ACCOUNT AGGREGATION

A process by which accounts are linked for the purpose of combining fees or to ease access for account holders. One form of account aggregation is householding, whereby all the savings, checking and brokerage accounts of a household are linked. In householded accounts, statements and online summaries display all accounts within the household.

Account aggregation may also include credit card accounts that are issued by the institution where the linked accounts are held or which are tied in some way to a particular account. Account aggregation usually only occurs within a single institution, although certain assets held outside a financial institution may be linked if there is a prearranged procedure for doing so.

Aggregating accounts can be particularly useful for families who have multiple financial goals, since the statements give a complete picture of the family's financial assets.