Intuit Releases Mobile Account Aggregation Tool

Intuit (Mountain View, Calif.) has released a beta version of Quicken Beam, a service that allows users to receive information on all their financial accounts via their mobile phones. Consumers receive instant access to their account balances and recent account activities.

The service, which is being touted as something to help consumers spend within their means and as an anti-fraud tool, is available for download and trial at Intuit.com. Testers can also provide feedback and talk online about the product with the design team.

Quicken Beam does not require data entry, multiple login screens or a Web browser to use. Alerts are sent to users for low balances or when a certain transaction has gone through.

According to Glenn Tom, SVP consumer segment leader at Digital Insight, an Intuit company, the service is not being offered through financial institutions, so any consumer can sign up for it. All they need is their user name and password from their financial institution to set up the service.

Glenn says Quicken Beam in no way is meant to replace the financial institution as the repository of consumers' account information. "It simply enables consumers to see this information on the go, anytime, from anywhere," he explains. "For years, thousands of financial institutions have provided connectivity to Quicken and Quicken Online, enabling millions of consumers to see their personal finance balance and account activity on their desktop and on the Web. Quicken Beam uses the same data feed to simply show consumers their transaction and account balances on their mobile devices."