[lewisl9029]

I believe this is true for most US banks also.

I can't even count how many promising-looking Fintech products I had to pass over because the only auth mechanism they offered was through sharing online banking credentials.

Until bank policies regarding credentials-sharing actually change, I think it's really irresponsible for products to even ask for credentials at all, let alone offer it as the default/only auth option. Users could be unwittingly putting their entire life savings at risk.

[technofiend]

Yodlee not only wants your credentials but at one point updated their customer agreement to grant them Power of Attorney with each institution they managed on your behalf. I don't know about you but PoA, a binding arbitration clause and their marketing your data to boot is well beyond my comfort level.

[sillysaurus3]

Users could be unwittingly putting their entire life savings at risk.

Is this a realistic concern? I thought the point of a bank was that situations like that can be reversed 100% of the time.

[Mtinie]

That reversal is not instantaneous, and by no means is it a guarantee that you'll ever get the whole amount back when overdraft fees, third-party bounced check fees, and all of the other non-monetary impacts are taken into account.

Depending on the scope of your accounts with the financial company that you're banking with it's possible that beyond your day-to-day operating funds and your mid-term savings accounts that you may also have access to your investments and other long-term stores of value. They aren't as liquid, and it would be harder for a thief to shift them into something that can be transferred out of your account, but it certainly is possible for it to happen if sales of stocks/bonds/etc. are conducted without your knowledge and then the funds are wired out.

[lewisl9029]

In this particular case, yes, because banks tend to deny all liability for fraudulent transactions that result from credentials sharing, so the user is entirely liable for whatever loss that occurs.

[Jemmeh]

It's a realistic concern. For example, a lot of elderly people are targeted for scams because they A.) Are often little easier to trick and B.) Tend to have more money. Comes up in the news a lot. They don't get it back.

[EpicEng]

Unless you hand out your credentials to an unauthorized third party, relieving the bank of any liability.