It's possible to do some of those things on the Web now, but doing so would require you to visit the Web site of each financial institution. To spare you the exertion, programmers are pulling all-nighters and missing their kids' soccer games as they frantically add features to aggregation software. Twenty years ago, these geniuses might have been designing nuclear weapons in taxpayer-funded laboratories. Now they're trying to fatten our portfolios. The idea is that you'll view your accounts from a variety of institutions from your Citibank-aggregated Web page, and gradually switch most of your accounts over to Citibank.
Aggregators have to work out more than technical issues.
They need to get answers to regulatory questions. They have to address cultural matters, too, and deal with people's conflicting feelings about technology. Experts point out that banks won't stay in business if they lose customers' trust, so there's nothing to worry about. Talkin' 'bout my regulation If you expect government to protect you, think again. No one has figured out yet how banking regulations apply to aggregators.