How Instant Account Verification Makes Consumer Onboarding a Breeze

Consumers know all too well how time consuming it can be to set up financial services or products. The last thing consumers want is to wait for microdeposits or other verifying procedures to clear so they can get access to their accounts or money in a new app. Consumers deserve a better experience, whether they’re accessing financial services or applying for a loan.

With instant account verification, consumers can connect to their financial accounts and apply for loans more quickly without having to jump through several hoops along the way. Let’s dive into further details about what instant bank account verification is, how consumers can use it to open a new bank account or get that loan they need, and the benefits of using Finicity’s AI-driven open banking technology. 

What Is Instant Bank Account Verification and When Do Consumers Use It?

Instant account verification (IAV) is a convenient and automated method that helps consumers connect to and fund new accounts. By enabling lenders and financial service providers to verify and access bank account data in a matter of seconds, IAV allows consumers to open accounts more quickly. These accounts may include a new online bank account, a new app that connects to a bank account, or even a loan application. 

Setting up accounts and applying for loans once took days to complete from start to finish. Now consumers can set them up in minutes. All that’s necessary is for the consumer to permission access to the specific accounts so they can direct how third parties use their data.

IAV is useful for those who want to use a new organization to either open an account or use one of their services. It can also be particularly helpful in situations where individuals already have a relationship with a financial institution and want to move money into their account or need a loan. For example, instant account verification may be used when applying for a personal loan to expedite the process and get the money into their account as quickly as possible.

At Finicity, we know digital verifications are invaluable to the loan process. With our open banking platform and its AI-driven analytic insights, we enable lenders to screen consumer credit history and consider eligibility quickly. That efficiency enables borrowers to get the loan they need without the hassle of finding and bringing in a paper trail of their historical data. Finicity uses instant account verification to provide a seamless user experience that enables consumers to take full charge of their finances. No matter what they’re trying to accomplish.

How Consumers Can Connect Their Accounts Online and Track Financial Data

Using our Finicity Connect widget as part of financial apps or services, connecting to bank accounts online is simple and quick. All the consumer needs to do is log into their financial institution(s) with their username and password. Then, they can choose what accounts and data they want to give access to. With Connect, consumers can benefit from their financial data by easily permissioning data and accessing new apps, accounts, or other financial services in minutes.

The entire digital verification process can be broken down into five easy steps:

1. When it’s time to connect to the bank account, the app or service requests that the consumer permission access to their accounts and provides the terms of the data sharing.
2. The consumer selects the financial institutions that they want to use and permission the specific accounts to use.
3. Data is aggregated from the bank or payroll provider and is passed along for its specific use.
4. Transaction data is intelligently analyzed, summarized, and used by the app or service to verify consumer assets, income, and employment, or account details are used to verify ownership, current balance, or provide account and routing numbers for payment.
5. For certain use cases, ongoing aggregation of data or refresh of the data to keep data current can also be included.

Why Finicity AI Technology Keeps Consumer Information Up-to-Date and Secure

Data security has become a critical issue, and it will only continue to grow more important as technology evolves. With the constant threat of bad actors, it is paramount to protect consumer information at all times. While the convenience of technology is a great perk, it doesn’t matter if a consumer’s data isn’t safe from security threats.

This is why Finicity is equipped to not only connect to consumer accounts quickly and easily, but to keep their data updated and safe as well. Because financial data is pulled directly from the bank, it isn’t stored by Finicity and only the data permissioned is accessed when it’s needed, minimizing how much data is used and stored. Additionally, our technology does not store consumer information—it grants access to it. This enables consumers to take permission away just as easily as they allowed it. 

On top of data protection, Finicity also encrypts data when it’s in transit and at rest. All of the consumer’s data is protected throughout the process as it would be at the financial institution. 

Instant account verification helps consumers and lenders make wiser financial decisions more quickly and efficiently. To learn more about how Finicity’s services can help streamline financial experiences, read more about our solutions.