Offer the right PFM tools on the consumer’s terms

As their financial lives become increasingly complex, consumers are looking for tools to help manage it all. 

For many, their financial portfolios have come to occupy an elaborate ecosystem, often spread across multiple financial entities. Accenture’s 2023 Global Banking Consumer Study revealed that typical consumers in North America may hold more than seven financial services products – only three of them at their primary financial institution.

Add to that the many kinds of subscription services and other monthly expenses consumers commit to, and the financial picture becomes even more complicated to monitor and manage. This has implications not only for monthly cash flows, but for overall financial wellness and achieving financial goals.

The need for personal financial management (PFM) resources creates an opportunity for financial institutions to serve their customers more holistically, and to deepen relationships. The key is offering those tools in a way consumers will appreciate.

 

A shift in expectations

There is now a small but growing segment of banking customers ready for PFM. But they want systems that work and that offer real-time insights into their true financial health, and goal-based tools to help them plan and make decisions. Financial institutions that address this need on the consumer’s terms can evolve from passive service providers to proactive financial wellness partners.

If you’re helping manage a bank or credit union and looking for a PFM solution (or a better one) to offer your customers or members, consider these four essential requirements for a solution consumers will actually use:

• Financial institution based. Make sure your PFM offering is integrated into your online banking environment and is an extension of your brand. Consumers are still most comfortable turning to their primary financial institution for insight on their finances. Build on that trust. Sending your accountholders to a third-party site is ill-advised. It’s far better for the customer to stays and do additional business with you, rather than with someone else. It maintains their engagement and loyalty.

• Comprehensive, but still comprehensible. A capable PFM solution should enable a user to plug in accounts from across their entire financial life if they want to. And useful budgeting and forecasting tools need to be part of the mix. But the content needs to be organized for fluid navigation to avoid endless clicking and scrolling, with easy-to-understand displays that portray a clear financial picture.
  

• Personalized. The offering should be set up “cafeteria style,” so that consumers can take or leave various components, based on what’s important to them. Users should be able to moderate their own level of PFM involvement. Some may use the solution very lightly; others will want to get into it deeply. And, any financial advice or products your institution offers must be relevant, corresponding logically to what’s happening in the consumer’s PFM record. Has your customer seen an increase in income? Perhaps an attractive mortgage offer is appropriate.
  

• A resource, not a nag. Consumers want ease and convenience, not a financial ball and chain. They will lose enthusiasm for using a PFM solution if they feel it is too demanding or intrusive – constantly watching every transaction and telling them they’re spending too much, for example, or peppering them with extraneous offers.
  

The Fiserv solution: AllData PFM

AllData PFM from Fiserv is designed to satisfy all of the above criteria. It provides consumers with a comprehensive overview of their finances across multiple institutions and accounts, to help them analyze spending, review investments and take control. Users get complete information about their financial situation, so they can make informed decisions – and they get it within the friendly confines of their primary financial institution.

Our AllData aggregation service can gather customer account data from virtually any online source – including banking, credit, investment and insurance entities. AllData PFM then organizes and displays the information in user-friendly dashboards. It’s all safe; information such as usernames, passwords, and account and transaction data are protected using multilayered security.

Once the data is streaming into the system, AllData PFM provides an interactive view of an individual’s complete financial picture – balances, cash flow, top expenses and net worth.

 

Key features

• Budget wizard – This tool enables users to create a new budget in minutes, then track spending in each category to help with budget adherence

• Balance and transaction alerts – Users can receive notifications when they are approaching a spending limit in any budget category

• Data and analysis tools – Give customers a consolidated view of assets and liabilities, with charts, graphs, advanced search capabilities and filtered reports

• Customizable expense categorization – Transactions are categorized automatically, based on user preferences and built-in rules, with custom sub-category features available

• Investments tracking – Details are provided for various assets owned by a customer – stocks, bonds, stock options, annuities, insurance, real estate and other asset types

• Subscription management – Customers can now have full visibility into their recurring subscriptions, with payment schedules, amounts and a link to the provider

   

New user interface

The newest version of AllData PFM also has an updated user interface that provides an even better user experience, with enhancements including:

• Consistent design across various components

• WCAG 2.2 AA conforming

• Navigational updates for easier interaction

• Broader branding and customization options for your institution

• Full functionality alignment between desktop and mobile versions

 

The benefits

AllData PFM keeps the customer and their data under your umbrella, helping to minimize business loss to third parties. The solution also works with your existing online banking site and can scale to support a growing base, and integrates with Retail Online from Fiserv and other Fiserv tools for designing digital experiences. 

Financial institutions that implement AllData are typically achieving adoption rates between 10% and 15% of online banking users. Many in this group engage heavily with the system, adding lots of external accounts and creating multiple budgets.

Why it matters

Accenture’s Banking Consumer Study 2025 states that one goal of financial wellness programs like PFM is to turn banking customers into advocates – people who are so satisfied they will recommend their financial institution to others. When consumers are convinced that their institution knows them well and cares about them, they will be much more likely to pass along their positive experience. The study revealed that such advocates hold 17% more products with their primary bank, which translates to a 5% to 30% increase in wallet share.

PFM applications can become a key differentiator for financial institutions. Consumers want the ability to view their complete financial picture in a single location, and are looking to their bank or credit union for help. Offering a PFM solution is a way to gain insight into customers' external accounts and their financial habits, so you can deliver more personalized financial guidance and cross-sell additional products and services. 

PFM can help your institution become the financial hub consumers rely on to monitor and manage their finances while integrating into your existing digital products. That makes for a more satisfying customer experience.

In any event, you can be sure that if consumers want PFM, they will find it – somewhere. Will it be with you?