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Credit Ready and your bank
Credit Ready and your bank

Questions are often raised about the use of data-scraping tools like Credit Ready. Here we aim to clear up some of the confusion.

Danielle Forrest avatar
Written by Danielle Forrest
Updated over a week ago

What is data-scraping?

Data-scraping is an innovative process whereby a user's banking information, such as statements and transactions, can be extracted from their online banking platform. The data can then be analysed by their broker as part of a loan application. 

Companies such as CashDeck, SocietyOne, Tic:Tik Home Loans, ZipMoney, AMP, MYOB and Xero among many others use scraping technology every day to help clients perform tasks quickly and efficiently. In 2017, Westpac and NAB Ventures purchased shares in a business called Basiq, itself a data-scraping business. 

Why is there confusion about the use of scraping technology? 

Scraping technology has been around for two decades and the benefits and efficiencies it provides are widely recognised. The technology requires the user to enter their internet banking credentials into a third party product and this is where confusion arises—most banks' terms and conditions advise the client not to disclose these details to anyone. 

So on one hand, the practice has been around for 20 years or more and on the other, banks advise against it. Why? 

Put simply, banks and institutions will never recommend a client shares their details, and rightly so. By maintaining a firm stance, banks are ensuring that their customers always treat their credentials with respect and that they always remain vigilant when being asked to use them. The customer can then judge whether the third party they are sharing their details with is legitimate, useful and safe. 

Important considerations about using CashDeck Credit Ready 

  • We take security and privacy extremely seriously. We fully respect the banks' reasoning in not actively recommending third party apps—it would reduce the value their customers place on security. 

  • The way our system uses credentials, a breach would be virtually impossible. Unlike wealth management or budgeting tools that require ongoing storing of credentials, statement retrieval credentials are stored only for a short period of time and, apart from the few seconds used to login to your bank, are always encrypted. 

  • In the very unlikely event that credentials somehow made their way into the wrong hands, the majority of banks use two factor authentication to move money —for example a pin number sent to a mobile phone. To commit a fraud, someone would need your mobile phone as well as your credentials. 

  • There has not been a case anywhere in the world, to our knowledge, where a bank has refused to support their customer as a result of using this type of service. 

  • We, like most fintechs, are looking forward to the day when—as in the Europe and the UK, Open Banking can provide the same level of data currently only available via scraping. In the meantime, we focus very heavily on protecting users' data and credentials. 

  • If you are concerned about using the service, you can change your password after use which completely removes any questions you or your bank may have about how they may be used in the future.
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    ​(Note if you do change your passwords, please wait 30 minutes after completing the process. Logging in too early will interrupt the connection and you will need to begin again.)

Please feel free to get in touch if you'd like to know more, we're always happy to help.

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