User-permissioned financial data is becoming a bedrock of fintech innovation. Ever since Plaid came on the scene and enabled us to connect our bank accounts to other financial institutions, consumers have appreciated the advantages of this concept. But what the industry has really needed is an independent standard for this data sharing.

My next guest on the Fintech One-on-One Podcast is Don Cardinal, the Managing Director of the Financial Data Exchange (FDX). This non-profit organization has created a common standard for the secure and convenient access of permissioned consumer and business financial data.

In this podcast you will learn:

• What attracted Don to the opportunity at Financial Data Exchange.
• Don’s work at FS-ISAC and what that organization does.
• The original vision for FDX and how it has evolved today.
• The state of open banking in the US today.
• The five core principles of financial data that FDX adheres to.
• Details of the FDX API standard they have developed.
• How that interfaces to the work that Plaid is doing.
• How the authentication of credentials works.
• Why biometric authentication is so much better than passwords.
• Some of the big names who are members are FDX.
• How they balance the different perspectives of banks, fintechs and consumer groups.
• The connection between FDX and the Open Financial Exchange (OFX).
• How they keep their own technology updated.
• Don’s vision for the future of open finance.