What Is Plaid? How It Works And How Safe It Is

Plaid can help you securely connect various third-party applications to your bank account. As the digital landscape evolves, understanding how this tool works and how to use it becomes essential for anyone seeking to harness the power of integrated financial services. Here you'll find step-by-step instructions to link it, how it works, why it is safe, its security features, and what banks support it.

What Is Plaid?

Plaid is a technology platform that allows borrowers and lenders to connect reliably. It was co-founded in May 2013 by William Hockney and Zach Perrit. In addition, important financial apps and financial institutions use Plaid. According to CNBC, Plaid reported that its customer base doubled from 2017 to 2018, averaging roughly 20 million consumer accounts.

What Is Plaid Bank Verification?

Financial institutions use Plaid to view your personal financial data through your bank accounts. These institutions will be able to see only bank account information related to the following:

• Account holder: name, address, phone, and email.
• Transactions: amount, date, type, and description of the last 24 months
• Account Details: name, type, routing numbers, and balance

This technology allows you to save time because there's no need to gather financial data, send documents, or call your bank representative to authorize them to share your financial information. Banks also verify the accuracy of your account information through the Plaid system, which connects you to your bank and checks that the information provided matches your file, ensuring a quick and easy validation process.

#DidYouKnow Camino Financial uses Plaid during the small business loan application process.

Is Plaid Safe?

Yes, PLAID is 100% safe. They use many safety measures to handle private information. It remains secure because the platform hires third-party code reviewers and independent auditors. Plaid requires a key authorization to verify the authenticity of a financial institution and has embedded Cryptology to validate authenticity further. Plaid adheres to strict protocols and uses encrypted tunnel technology. They conduct routine tests to make sure their operations remain effective. Plaid uses independent security testing and a bug bounty program to follow up and solve any security issues.

Just like Camino Financial, Plaid takes your security seriously.

How Does Plaid Connect To Banks?

 The tool encrypts the data each time and only shares the specific data the lender requires, not all your information. With Plaid, you decide who receives your data and for what length of time.

Moreover, Plaid doesn't sell or share your information with anyone unless you authorize them to do so.

Once you sign up to use the Plaid app, select your bank or credit union from over 11,000 institutions. Then, you set up your private login and password information. The connection between your bank and the Plaid app is secure. Plaid collects information to verify your identity to safeguard your information further and prevent fraud.

How To Use Plaid With Camino Financial: Link Plaid To Your Bank Account

In the following steps, you will be able to make a Plaid banking verification:

Open The Camino Financial Link You'll Receive

Click the link you'll receive through a Camino Financial email or SMS to start your bank verification.

Login To The Member's Portal

Remember that to enter the Member's Portal; you'll have to verify your identity through a verification code we'll send to your registered phone number. Simply enter the code provided and click on the "Verify" button.

Review The Terms

Once inside your account, please click the "Review My Terms" button to review the loan terms. If you like your terms, click the "Accept terms" button.

Link Your Bank Account

This screen will help you understand how Plaid works.

#DidYouKnow Plaid works with over 6,000 institutions and won't share any personal information with us or provide access to your funds.

Once you have read all the information, click "CONNECT ACCOUNT." Now it's time to link your account with Plaid. Simply click on the "Continue" button to get started. Select the financial institution in which you hold your primary business accounts. If you cannot see your bank on the list, type the name in the "Search" field. The platform will redirect to your financial institution's website. Enter your online bank credentials, username, and password to continue the Plaid bank verification. If the process asks you to input a token, your financial institution must send it and send it to you in text messages directly to the phone number you have provided at your bank. This usually occurs if you have multi-factor authentication set up. Click the "Submit" button.

You're Linked!

Once you link your account, you will receive the below confirmation. Next, you must click the "Continue" button. Do not click the "x" in the top right or close the window.

Wait For A Loan Decision

The platform will redirect you to the "Complete" page to confirm you have linked your account correctly connected. Please ensure you have reached this page before you close your window. If so, you've completed your Plaid manual verification!

Your account is now successfully linked. Congratulations!

Your file is now in Underwriting. We will have a final decision within 48-72 hours. A credit agent may call you for a 5-minute conversation about your business. Feel free to contact us should you have any questions or face any technical difficulties.

Who Uses Plaid

Plaid is widely used across various industries and sectors, primarily in financial technology (FinTech). Here are some common use cases and industries where Plaid is often employed:

• Personal Finance Apps.
• Payment Apps. To create seamless money transfers, bill payments, peer-to-peer payments, and other transactional activities.
• Investment Platforms. To verify and link users' bank accounts, enabling them to initiate fund transfers, automate investment contributions, and provide a holistic view of their financial portfolios.
• Lending and Credit Services. To assess creditworthiness, verify income, and streamline the loan approval or direct deposit process.
• Digital Wallets. To allow users to store and manage their payment information securely.
• Accounting Software. To simplify expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting by automatically retrieving and categorizing transaction data.
• Neobanks And Challenger Banks. To provide services such as real-time transaction updates, spending insights, and personalized financial recommendations.

List Of Plaid-Supported Banks

Here is a list of Plaid-supported banks if you need to link your bank account to allow the platform access to your financial information: "Plaid supports over 11,500 institutions across North America and Europe."

Financial Institutions, APIs, and Banks supported by Plaid
Camino Financial Coast Capital Savings Scotiabank Assante - InvestorOnline Bayview Credit Union Cambrian Credit Union - Cambrian Online Newfoundland & Labrador Credit Union Prospera Credit Union - Prospera Credit Union Discover TD Bank PNC Bank SunTrust Bank US Bank Vanguard North Shore Bank Warren FCU Pinnacle Bank (CA) - Personal	Access Credit Union - Online Banking CIBC Choice Savings and Credit Union - Personal Online Banking Assiniboine Credit Union - Online Banking BlueShore Financial - Online Banking Canaccord Capital North Pea Union Qtrade Investor Quinte First Credit Union - Online Banking BB&T Bank Huntington Bank KeyBank Citi Acadia Bank Aspiration Mercury Tangerine - Personal	Capital One - Credit Cards Canada RBC Royal Bank Alterna Bank - Online Banking Bay Credit Union - Online Banking BMO - Fund Account Access Nelson & District Credit Union - Nelson & District Credit Union President's Choice Financial QuesTrade - Client Portal Regions Bank M&T Bank Regions Bank Santander Bank KeyBank Discover American Express Merryl Linch Silvergate Bank - Personal Online Banking

What Happens If My Bank Is Not Listed?

If your bank is not listed, it could be due to one of the following reasons:

• Your bank is not on the system, so you can't connect it.
• Your bank supports Plaid, but it's incompatible with the application you're attempting to connect it with.
• There may have been an update or alteration that has temporarily disrupted Plaid's ability to link with your bank securely.

#DidYouKnow If you're trying to make a transaction using Plaid Bank Transfer, you can add your account manually.

Camino Uses Plaid Bank Account Verification To Ensure Your Data Stays Safe

Along with helping your business prosper by gaining access to needed funds, we can guarantee that your personal and business information is never compromised. Using Plaid as part of our loan process ensures that your data stays secure and confidential.

You can rest assured that we only use bank technology when processing loans at Camino Financial.

By using the PLAID, we can offer competitive loan terms and rates. We can examine your business's cash flows to help determine your best course of action to achieve financial health. We use other bank technology to secure your information and protect you from identity fraud throughout the loan process. That's because you are our top priority from beginning to end. We take extreme measures to access sensitive information securely and privately. For that reason, we can confidently recommend using PLAID.

Rest assured, we cannot see your bank login information when you connect to PLAID.

Now that you know how secure our process is, you know that we have your best interests at heart. Apply For A Business Loan!