Egg takes first crack at Money Manager fraud protection

The floodgates are about to open in the embryonic account aggregation market, where customers can enter all their banking, credit-card and other bill-payment details on a secure website, saving them having to repeat the process each time they make a payment.

Moneynet

The floodgates are about to open in the embryonic account aggregation market, where customers can enter all their banking, credit-card and other bill-payment details on a secure website, saving them having to repeat the process each time they make a payment.

Next week, Egg, the Prudential's online banking operation, launches its Money Manager, touted as the first aggregation service "offering consumers full access to the UK's financial services with a fraud guarantee". It stores a customer's personal security details encrypted on their own PC. They do not have to disclose these details to Egg or anyone else, giving a greater measure of control and security. Users will be covered against fraud.

Simon Nixon, head of moneysupermarket.com, which is preparing its own version, said: "Egg are fast-moving, and they have become impatient with the banks. I think there is going to be a lot of envy from the other banks and they will have to do something similar. They just didn't want to be first."

Egg has run into criticism from the Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs), the banks' trade association, over its scheme. Last night a spokesman for Apacs said: "The Egg service does not conform to our guidelines because it does not have the agreement of the other parties." He was referring to banks whose data would be used.

Ambrose McGinn, director of retail e-commerce and strategic development at Abbey National, said: "[We have] not provided permission to Egg to aggregate Abbey National customer data."

Andy Deller, Egg's director of banking & insurance, said: "Banks have said the services are against their policy, but it's in their vested interests to delay competing versions because they are probably going to bring their own out."