Intuit, JPMorgan reach agreement over sharing financial data with software vendors

An agreement has been struck between JPMorgan Chase and Intuit that gives joint customers real-time access to their data. Specifically, the deal allows Chase customers to link their bank accounts to Intuit's cloud accounting products without turning over their Chase-affiliated usernames and passwords.

According to both companies, the agreement "aligns closely" with a set of consumer data-sharing principles announced in October and "sets the bar for how banks and technology companies" work together to provide services for shared customers -- a feat that has proved contentious in the past.

A little more than a year ago, a number of banks temporarily blocked data from flowing to financial technology platforms such as Intuit's. The concern was that the data could be picked off by hackers and cause the banks to incur costs from potential identity theft or fraud.

With this new data-sharing pact, the companies will use the Open Financial Exchange API to authorize Chase to electronically share financial data with Intuit products such as Mint, TurboTax Online, and QuickBooks Online. The API utilizes tokenization technology that will allow Intuit to download account information from Chase without asking users to give Intuit their Chase user name and password.

"We're pleased to deliver a great experience for our shared consumer and small-business customers," said Intuit CEO Brad Smith. "Intuit products, such as Mint, TurboTax Online and QuickBooks Online, provide tens of millions of people with a complete picture of their finances, so that they can make informed decisions for themselves or their business."

Looking ahead, both companies said they plan to make similar agreements with others in the financial services and technology industries.