Edmond Walters , chief executive and president of eMoney Advisor Inc., a unit of Commerce.

Besides Yodlee, other third-party online-banking companies such as Online Resources Corp., CheckFree Corp. and CashEdge have been beefing up their offerings. Last year, CheckFree rolled out a personal-finance tool that combines online banking with electronic bill payments and provides tools that project cash flow, analyze spending habits and track expenses against set goals. Online Resources, which primarily works with community banks and credit unions, says its product allows consumers to get an aggregate view across any of their online accounts.

Many of the new online-banking tools are likely to attract users who might otherwise buy Quicken or Money software. For their part, the software companies say their programs offer more advanced features than the new bank offerings, such as the ability to determine tax-deductible expenses across all accounts. Quicken says it is working with banks and other third-party companies to develop new personal-finance products.

The new offerings reflect the growing importance of banks' online operations. About one-third of U.S. households, or about 35 million, use online banking, says Jim Bruene , publisher of Online Banking Report. While these services are mostly free for customers, banks are ultimately likely to look for ways to charge for them, perhaps by tacking on fees for more elaborate reports and alerts or expedited payments, says Dan Schatt , a senior analyst at research and consulting firm Celent LLC.