Overview
The data is primarily organized according to how the Yodlee Aggregation Engine pulls data from sites. At the outset, there is information about the institutions whose accounts can be aggregated in a Yodlee application by the Yodlee Aggregation Engine. Data is captured about the type of accounts (referred to as containers) that are supported by the specific site (for example, bank, loan, or credit card accounts).This information is stored as individual content services.
The information about the users and accounts retrieved from these institutions is stored in the Yodlee Database. There are two approaches in gathering this user and account level information:
- The container-based approach where the user’s data is retrieved separately for each content service (i.e., each container or account type like bank, credit card, or loan associated with an organization or site).
- The site-based approach where the user’s data is retrieved in a single attempt for all containers associated with an organization or site.
Customers currently using container-based approach and interested in migrating to the site-based approach should contact their Yodlee Sales Representative.
Content Services
When pulling account data from a site, the APIs tell the Yodlee Aggregation Engine where to get the information using Content Services, which are organized first by container (corresponding to account type such as credit card or bill) then by site (corresponding to the site from which the information is pulled).
It is important to realize that the information for credit cards is organized by container and site rather than by the bank. Banks have multiple content services. Some banks will have multiple content services for the same container, such as for credit cards; banks may have different websites for different credit cards.
Users and Accounts - Container-based Approach
Once the data is entered in the Yodlee Database it is structured first by the consumer, then by the site from which the data is gathered, then by the account at the site. In some cases there will be more than one account on a site. Each user has a unique ID, called the mem_id (member ID), which has a mem_item_id associated with it. Each mem_item_id (member item ID) corresponds to one Content Services ID, which corresponds to one container. A mem_item_id will have one or more item_account_ids associated with it. Each item_account_id corresponds to one real world account, such as a Chase Sapphire Credit Card or a Chase United Visa Credit Card.
Users and Accounts - Site-based Approach
The data in the Yodlee Database is structured first by the consumer, then by the site from which the data is gathered, and then by the account at the site. In some cases there will be more than one account on a site. Each user has a unique ID, called the mem_id (member ID). This mem_id is associated with each mem_site_acct that the user possess, which in turn is associated with mem_item_id. Each mem_item_id (member item ID) corresponds to one Content Services ID, which corresponds to one container. A mem_item_id will have one or more item_account_ids associated with it. Each item_account_id corresponds to one real world account, such as a Chase Sapphire Credit Card or a Chase United Visa Credit Card.
What's New with the Site Approach?
The level of data abstraction is different from the previous container-based approach. The data with the site-based approach is abstracted at site level instead of item_id level. The consumer enters one set of credentials for a site_acct and Yodlee automatically pulls up all the accounts associated with that site for one set of user credentials. Refer to Container vs Site for details.