An account aggregator is an intermediary; screen scraping is one way software can collect account data. They are not competing labels: an aggregator may connect through an institution’s API or OAuth flow, credential-based screen scraping, or another method. What happens to your login details and which data an app can access depends on the specific connection flow and institution.
What is the difference between an account aggregator and screen scraping?
An account aggregator helps retrieve or transmit consumer-authorized financial data between a financial institution and an app or other authorized third party. Screen scraping is a data-collection technique: software accesses information displayed in a financial institution’s customer-facing online interface and parses it for use elsewhere. The Congressional Research Service explains both the intermediary role and the methods used to connect accounts in its September 30, 2025 brief.
For example, a budgeting app could use an aggregator to bring together balances from checking, investment, and credit-card accounts at three institutions. The aggregator is the connective layer; the institution’s supported connection method determines how data is retrieved. The CRS brief reported that at least 100 million consumers had authorized third parties to access financial data as of 2024, describing this as a previous estimate rather than a current census.
How the main connection methods work
Institution-hosted OAuth or API connection
In an OAuth-style flow, you select your institution and authenticate on its website or in its app. The institution then provides the aggregator with a token or other security identifier, which can be used to retrieve authorized data. In its documented OAuth flow, Plaid says it does not store your account credentials. Plaid also notes that some API connections may ask you to enter credentials within Plaid’s flow without storing them; API access does not automatically mean an institution-hosted OAuth handoff. These details describe Plaid’s connection flows, not every provider’s practices.
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Credential-based screen scraping
In a credential-based flow, you give the connection service your login details and permission to access your institution’s online account interface. Software reads and parses the displayed information so another app can use it. The CFPB has described concerns with this approach, including credential sharing, overcollection, security, accuracy, and consumer control. Its 2023 proposed-rule notice discusses the historical role of screen scraping, while the agency’s 2024 final rule explains its concerns about the risks and imprecision of the method.
Some services use tokenized scraping, which can reduce certain risks associated with sharing credentials. It still involves parsing human-readable information and may access more data than necessary, according to the CFPB’s final-rule discussion. A label such as “tokenized” therefore does not by itself establish what information an app can see or retain.
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What happens to your password, data, and access?
There is no universal answer based only on the word “aggregator,” “API,” or “scraping.” The connection screen and the provider’s disclosures are more informative than the label. Plaid, for example, distinguishes its OAuth flow, in which the institution authenticates you and Plaid says it does not store credentials, from non-OAuth flows that may ask you to provide credentials to Plaid, which says it stores them to collect data.
Before approving a connection, check these details:
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- Who is requesting access? Identify the app and any aggregator assisting it.
- Where do you authenticate? Note whether you are redirected to your institution or enter credentials in another company’s flow.
- What can the app access? Review the selected accounts and the categories of information requested.
- How will the data be used and retained? Read the app’s explanation of its purposes and data practices.
- How can you revoke access? Look for the app’s disconnect option and any institution-side controls, and check what each one revokes.
- Does your institution support this method? The available flow can vary by institution and provider.
Disconnecting through an app or institution may stop future access, but it does not necessarily delete data the app has already received. Check the app’s deletion and retention terms if you want previously collected data removed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How U.S. rules address authorization and aggregators
The CFPB’s published rule under Section 1033 sets a framework for consumer-authorized access to covered financial data. Under 12 CFR § 1033.401, an authorized third party must provide an authorization disclosure, certify to its obligations, and obtain express informed consent. The rule allows an aggregator to perform authorization procedures on a third party’s behalf, but the third party remains responsible. Under 12 CFR § 1033.431, the aggregator must be identified and provide the required certification.
As of October 7, 2026, the rule’s compliance schedule is stayed, not proceeding on its original timetable. The CFPB’s implementation page says a court stayed compliance dates on October 29, 2025. It also reports that the CFPB issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on August 22, 2025, and planned further rulemaking concerning compliance dates. The framework is published, but its implementation timing and potential amendments remain unsettled.
These rule provisions do not establish that every app’s current connection screen follows the same process. For an individual connection, review the disclosures and permissions actually shown to you.
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