Introduction to FDX

The Financial Data Exchange (FDX) specifies a common, interoperable, royalty-free standard and operating framework for financial data sharing and secure authentication. It also provides user experience and consent guidelines.

FDX is a nonprofit, independent subsidiary of the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), an industry consortium with the mission of ensuring resilience and continuity of the global financial services infrastructure. Operating in the US and Canada, FDX is a technical organization which does not involve itself in policy discussions.

Benefits

FDX specifications unify financial data sharing implementations which can vary from organization to organization. By adopting the FDX API as an industry standard, data providers and data recipients no longer need to spend extra time and resources resolving problems caused by inconsistent data connectivity, quality, and governance. Consumers will also benefit from a consistent standard across financial services platforms for strengthened control, access, transparency, traceability, and security of their financial data.

Benefits for Data Providers

The benefits of FDX standards include risk reduction and improved privacy. The FDX API supports Open ID Connect (OIDC) token-based access that eliminates risks posed by “held-away credentials[1].” Both the application interface (e.g. the fintech app) and the provider's data source capture the consumer's consent for data sharing. This clear and secure consent flow allows consumers to better manage data that they want to share with third parties[2].

Benefits for Data Recipients

The interoperability of FDX standards allows recipients to access financial data from providers easily and securely. Akoya, following the FDX standard with some customizations, translates responses from providers through data mapping and API integration to render a unified format for recipients. This unified format ensures consistent data to ease integration efforts. It also reduces time spent with bespoke integrations and disparate data structures.

API Specs

Formerly FS-ISAC's Durable Data API (DDA), FDX updates its API specification twice a year. The specifications provide the introduction and transmission protocol details for implementing with RESTful APIs. Akoya leverages these standards to enable financial data sharing via secure tokenized access.

FDX provides fee-free access to specifications by accepting the intellectual property agreement.