Whether you are an established financial institution with existing data providers or a one person startup the Universal Connect Project (UCP) is the right way to connect to financial services like banks, credit unions and wealth managers.
The UCP is an internet protocol for financial services data that builds upon the WC3 Standard Verifiable Credentials (https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model/). When you connect to services through an Internet protocol instead of through a proprietary API you get:
The UCP is currently routing traffic to MX, Finicity, Sophtron and Akoya, but if you would like to use another provider open an issue on our GitHub page and a member of the community will enable it for you. One of our community goals is to have global coverage by the end of 2025.
The UCP combines the FDX data standard with Verifiable Credentials to provide running code (a reference implementation) that eliminates ambiguity and embeds proof that the data has not been tampered with after it is created. Previous attempts to simplify access to financial services data have used an industry consortium approach rather than an Internet Standards approach. While Internet Standards take longer to establish the success of the Internet itself shows the benefits justify the extra work. Verifiable Credentials allow users to take possession of data without gaining the ability to modify the data. This enables the ideal “one click to instantly share” user experience that wasn’t previously possible. As the Internet itself is upgraded to improve privacy, security and reliability using Verifiable Credentials, new applications for financial data will be unlocked. By adopting Verifiable Credentials now companies gain a competitive advantage. Verifiable Credentials are being embraced by regulators because they allow users to take possession of their data and completely control how that data is shared.
Provider
(data aggregation provider
): Data providers/issuers of financial data.Institution
: financial institutions such as a bank or a utility company.Customer
: the end-user.Member
/Connection
: logins owned by the Customer
to an Institution
.