How we handle your personal financial data | Plaid (2024)

FAQs

Why did I get a Plaid verification code text? ›

We send this OTP as an additional security measure to help prevent unauthorized users from successfully linking your financial account(s) to financial apps and services.

The good news, though, is that, if the financial app you're using is powered by Plaid, it's safe to use. Plaid is a reputable company that uses encryption and industry-standard security measures to protect your information. What is Plaid?

Venmo: The mobile app for peer-to-peer payments and money transfers requires you to verify a bank account through Plaid by entering a username and password for an online bank account. Venmo uses that to verify the account information and balance to see whether there is enough money to cover a transaction.

Plaid will never ask for personal information during the interview process such as passport number, bank account number, social security number.

While Plaid enables you to share your data with the apps and services you want, the contact details (e.g. phone numbers and/or email addresses) that are surfaced during the multi-factor authentication (MFA) step are likely coming directly from your bank.

Widely used banks that use our instant bank linking system (Plaid) Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, US Bank, USAA, Fidelity, PNC, Capital One, TD Bank, SunTrust, Navy Federal, BB&T, etc.

Plaid does not charge consumers for using our services.

Users enter their payroll credentials into Plaid, which then pulls payroll information directly from the source. Using this method, Plaid is able to verify income for around 85% of the US workforce in seconds.

How Plaid makes money. When you connect your financial data to an app or service, they pay Plaid. For example, when you add a bank account to Square Cash, they pay us a fee.

What does Plaid do with my data? ›

How we handle your financial data. At Plaid, we enable you to share your data with the apps and services you want, protect against fraud and abuse, and enhance your overall digital finance experience. For example, when you use Plaid to connect your financial accounts to power an app it is simple and secure.

It's generally considered safe to give out your account number and sort code, but you should always use common sense and avoid sharing your bank details with people you don't know or expect payments from.

Is Plaid safe to link to your bank? Yes, in general using Plaid for banking is safe. Plaid follows strict security protocols to ensure sensitive data stays out of the hands of fraudsters. On top of that, for consumers, Plaid allows you to view and control exactly what data they've shared.

Plaid's software sits as an intermediary between your bank or credit card accounts and other financial companies' apps. One example would be a portfolio management site like Personal Capital or a budgeting app like YNAB. For sites like these to work, they need to access your account information.

A: If you receive an authentication code but did not request one, there is a chance your account password has been compromised – but don't worry, whomever is attempting to access your account cannot get the code sent to you. We would recommend immediately changing your affected account password. Have questions?

According to its website, Plaid is certified in internationally recognized security standards, like ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and is SSAE18 SOC2 compliant. Once you have used Plaid to authenticate your bank information, the connection is in place and can be used to transfer the financial information that you authorize.

You might receive a phishing email posing as your bank asking you to confirm your identity, or perhaps an SMS that appears to come from Google, alerting you about a security risk and asking you to verify your account. It's all a ruse designed to lure you into the trap.

To protect you and your financial accounts, Plaid uses advanced monitoring that automatically detects suspicious activity and helps prevent fraud. On occasion, Plaid will send you an email (sent from noreply@plaid.com) to confirm that you made a recent bank account connection to an app or service.