Cross-App Finance Platforms: Sharing Data, Better Insights

The Rise of Cross-App Finance in India

For years, Indian fintechs competed for users’ attention — wallets, banks, and lending apps operated in silos. But in 2025, that’s changing fast. A new wave of cross-app finance platforms is breaking these barriers by enabling users to share verified financial data across services, securely and seamlessly. The outcome: smarter insights, faster credit, and unified control.

This shift began with the RBI-backed Account Aggregator (AA) framework, which allows individuals and businesses to consent to share their data between banks, insurers, and fintechs. Instead of juggling 10 different apps, a user can now see loans, savings, and investments together through a single dashboard — all enabled by Account Aggregator Framework.

According to a PwC India 2025 report, more than 160 million financial accounts are now “AA-enabled.” Fintechs like Perfios, Finvu, and OneMoney have integrated with NBFCs, mutual funds, and insurers, forming the backbone of India’s emerging open-finance network. This ecosystem gives users what they always wanted — ownership of their own data.

Imagine an SME owner in Surat linking their bank statements from HDFC, GST records from the government portal, and loan data from a fintech lender — all visible in one app. That’s not future talk; that’s cross-app finance in action today.

How Open Finance Platforms Share Data Securely

Open finance thrives on consent, not compromise. The foundation of India’s cross-app finance model is built on user-controlled data flows, where every exchange is encrypted, audited, and reversible. The process ensures that fintech growth and privacy move hand in hand.

1. The Consent Architecture: When a user approves a request, financial data moves from a “Financial Information Provider” (like a bank) to a “Financial Information User” (like a fintech app) via an “Account Aggregator.” No human sees it; it’s automated, tokenized, and time-bound.

2. Real-Time APIs and Encryption: Apps communicate through standardised APIs defined by Sahamati, the non-profit alliance managing AA protocols. Every data packet is encrypted end-to-end — fintechs can use it, not store it. These practices follow the Fintech Data Consent Models recommended by the Digital Public Infrastructure framework.

3. Unified Dashboards: Modern cross-app platforms integrate insights from multiple services. For example, CRED now visualises spending, credit score, and BNPL data in one timeline. SME apps like OkCredit and FloBiz show working capital insights across accounts — transforming raw numbers into real decisions.

4. Smarter Recommendations: Machine learning models analyse aggregated data to help users save better or detect risk early. If your wallet app sees recurring late payments, it can suggest loan restructuring — all within user consent boundaries.

These systems reflect India’s fintech maturity: moving from transactional apps to relationship-driven ecosystems. Every shared dataset deepens understanding — not just of the user, but with the user’s permission.

Challenges, Trust, and Compliance in Open Data

Open finance may sound frictionless, but the road to scale comes with challenges — both technical and behavioral. The first is awareness. Most Indian users still don’t fully understand what they’re consenting to when sharing data between apps.

1. User Education: RBI’s consent-based model relies on informed participation. Fintechs must design transparent prompts — not walls of legal text. Simpler UX microcopy like “We’ll fetch your loan history to recommend better offers” builds clarity.

2. Security and Misuse Risks: While encryption protects data, phishing and unauthorized third-party plugins remain threats. Under Rbi Open Finance Guidelines, apps are required to maintain detailed audit trails and auto-expiry tokens for sensitive financial access.

3. Interoperability: Despite standard APIs, some legacy banks and insurers still lag in connecting to the AA network. This limits full cross-app functionality, particularly for rural and cooperative banks.

4. Business Incentives: Smaller fintechs face the cost of API integration without immediate ROI. Many are experimenting with freemium analytics or data partnerships to balance compliance with growth.

Nonetheless, confidence is rising. According to NPCI’s 2026 outlook, user consent transactions through AA platforms are expected to surpass 500 million annually — a sign that Indians are learning to trust data when they control it.

The Future of Connected Finance and Consumer Insights

By 2026, India’s financial ecosystem will be deeply interconnected. Cross-app platforms will not just share data — they’ll share intelligence. Predictive analytics will allow apps to alert users about rising expenses or declining credit scores in real time.

Hyper-Personalized Insights: With consented data streams, fintechs can create “financial twins” — digital profiles that understand income, spending, and goals. Instead of showing balances, apps will show behavior-driven advice. Platforms like Jupiter and Fi are already testing these adaptive dashboards under Future Of Digital Insights.

AI-Powered Compliance: As datasets grow, regulators will depend on AI-driven audits. RBI’s RegTech roadmap includes machine-checkable policies, ensuring no fintech can access more than approved data fields.

Integration with National Systems: Future cross-app platforms will connect with ONDC for commerce and Ayushman Bharat for health finance, making financial data part of India’s broader digital infrastructure.

Data Empowerment: The ultimate goal is “data democracy.” Just as UPI made money move freely, AA makes information move freely — but only with your consent. For small businesses, this means faster credit. For individuals, it means personalized planning without paperwork.

India’s fintech maturity will depend not on how much data apps can collect — but how responsibly they can connect. The next few years will turn consent into convenience, and transparency into trust.