Fidelity regularly enhances how it safeguards customers’ information, taking action to do so when necessary.
Fidelity works in partnership to support many advisors who securely advise on employer-sponsored retirement accounts with plan sponsor oversight. Some third-party fintech firms use credential sharing (e.g., username and password) to access, manage, and trade within their clients’ employer-sponsored retirement accounts, including those held at Fidelity, without plan sponsor oversight. Credential sharing presents security risks to our customers, particularly when it enables third parties to take high-risk actions, such as executing trades within the accounts.
Today, Fidelity is announcing that the company will begin taking steps to prevent platforms reliant on credential sharing from accessing and taking action in customer accounts held at Fidelity. This change is with customers’ best interests in mind to enhance security and reduce customer data exposure.
We anticipate these changes will be minimally disruptive to participants. Their login experience will remain unchanged. However, they may need to communicate with any outside advisor with whom they work to ensure account transactions are managed as intended given accounts may no longer be accessible by advisors via certain third-party platforms as Fidelity begins this transition. Fidelity recognizes the added measures some advisors may need to take due to these changes and values their shared commitment to customers’ privacy and data security.
This decision is the latest in Fidelity’s efforts to safeguard customer data and privacy. In late 2023, Fidelity took a key step to address unsafe data sharing practices, working toward eliminating screen scraping on its platform. Since Fidelity began these efforts, nearly 100% of consumer-directed data sharing happens through Fidelity’s application programming interfaces (APIs), enabling millions of customers to safely access and share their data.
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Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917
Fidelity Distributors Company, Inc, 900 Salem St., Smithfield, RI 02917
National Financial Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA 02110
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