Solving the Say-Do Gap in Data Sharing

MX’s latest survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers shows 64% of respondents agree that they expect to be able to see all of their financial data in one place. Among Gen Z, this jumps to 80% while 77% of Millennials agree. The survey also found that 12% of consumers said the ability to connect outside financial accounts so they can see all of their data in one place was critical, with 53% calling it out as very important or important.

But, at the same time, only 7% of overall respondents indicated they have shared their financial data with a third party in the past 12 months. And, only 8% indicated they have connected an outside account to see all transactions in one place. 

Let’s look at this more closely.. Consumers expect to be able to see all of their financial data in one place — and a large portion call this ability critical or important. So then why have only a small portion actually shared their financial data or connected accounts to see financial data in a single place? 

There is a clear gap in what consumers say versus what they do that presents a significant opportunity for financial institutions and fintechs to build the case for data sharing. Why is there this gap and how do we close it? 

According to Brett Allred, Chief Commercial Officer, Fintechs at MX, perhaps the answer to building the case is not to call it data sharing. 

“Let me give you an example. If I'm going to get a mortgage, or maybe a loan, a common question that I would get in the application process is that I need 3 months of bank statements.

So I have to go back, you know I go online. I download the statements, and I I get that, and I have to provide that to the lender as a consumer. Do I think about that as data sharing? Or is that more just a means, a requirement, of me getting the loan?,” says Brett. 

“...I think we can all see a use case where we could use data sharing to solve this. Why don't — instead of you going on your online banking system downloading PDFs and then emailing those over or putting them in a data sharing room — we just provide another option to do that automatically?”

That’s the essence of data sharing - how do we enable consumers to get something faster and more easily? To win in the market and build the case for data sharing, we need to present it to consumers as new frictionless ways to accomplish things. Here's how to automatically pull in your bank statements to manage your budget in a single view. Here’s how to more quickly apply for a loan. Here’s how to get your taxes done faster. 

Check out the full report on What Consumers Really Want from Financial Providers for more key insights, or watch the replay of our latest webinar with Brett and Crystal Anderson, Vice President of Product at MX as they dive into the key findings and what they mean for fintechs.