Wesabe Lets Users Add Their Own Bank

The only requirement is that the financial institution offer downloads in a format supported by Wesabe (currently OFX, QFX, OFC, or QIF - formats that sometimes are listed on bank sites as "Quicken" or "MS Money").

Wesabe provides a free, online money management tool that lets members see all their bank and credit card balances and transactions in one place, as well as ways to save money. The Wesabe community shares tips and information to help each other make better financial decisions and achieve money-related goals.

"We want to support our members wherever they choose to bank, be it a major institution or their hometown credit union," said Marc Hedlund, co-founder and chief product officer of Wesabe. "Wesabe was built from the ground up, so we don't rely on a third-party data middleman to manage our banking and member information. We're able to add banks without having to ask permission from a vendor, and have the freedom to welcome every legitimate bank and credit union where our members do business."

The company has added more than a thousand banks and credit unions to its database since launching in November 2006. Previously, if a new member's financial institution was not in Wesabe's database, the user would contact Wesabe and the new bank would be added in about a day. "When someone has made up their mind to join Wesabe and organize their finances, we want them to be able to hit the ground running," said Hedlund. "By streamlining and automating this process, we're ensuring that new members from smaller banks and credit unions feel just as welcome at our site and are able to start getting more for their money just as quickly as those from large institutions."

To protect members, Wesabe designed the add-your-bank feature in a way that eliminates any possibility of fraud or phishing. When a member enters in a new bank name and website, the new bank is only added to their individual list, not the main Wesabe database. Prior to adding the new institution and website to the master list where other members will see it, Wesabe carefully verifies the validity of the bank and the website address. In this way, any attempt to send members to a fraudulent website will be immediately detected and thwarted.