What is Plaid?
Plaid is a financial technology company that builds the infrastructure connecting applications to users' bank accounts. Founded in 2013 by Zach Perret and William Hockey, Plaid provides APIs that enable thousands of fintech applications to securely access financial data.
What is Plaid used for? In banking and fintech, Plaid is used for account linking, identity verification, balance checks, transaction history, and payment initiation. When you use apps like Venmo, Robinhood, Coinbase, or Chime, there's a good chance Plaid is working behind the scenes to connect your bank account. The company acts as a secure intermediary, allowing apps to verify account ownership, check balances, and access transaction history without ever seeing your bank login credentials.
Plaid supports over 12,000 financial institutions across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Europe. In 2021, Plaid was valued at $13.4 billion, making it one of the most valuable private fintech companies globally.
Is Plaid Safe?
Yes, Plaid is considered safe and employs bank-level security measures to protect user data. Here's why security experts generally trust Plaid:
Encryption & Security Standards
- 256-bit AES encryption for data at rest
- TLS encryption for data in transit
- SOC 2 Type II certified
- Regular third-party security audits and penetration testing
Regulatory Compliance
- PSD2 compliant in Europe (licensed AISP/PISP)
- Registered with FinCEN in the United States
- GDPR compliant for European users
- CCPA compliant for California residents
How Plaid Protects Your Credentials
When you enter your bank login through Plaid, your credentials are encrypted and never shared with the third-party app you're using. Plaid connects directly to your bank, authenticates your identity, and returns only the specific data the app requested (with your permission).
Consumer Protections
Plaid provides a consumer portal (my.plaid.com) where you can view all apps connected to your accounts and revoke access at any time. You maintain full control over your data.
Is it safe to give Plaid my bank login? Yes. When you enter your credentials in Plaid Link, they are encrypted and used only to establish a one-time connection with your bank. Plaid does not store your password after authentication. The app you're using receives only a secure token—never your login details.
How Does Plaid Work?
Plaid works by creating a secure bridge between your bank account and the apps you use. Here's the step-by-step process:
1. You Initiate a Connection
When you click "Connect Bank Account" in an app, you're presented with Plaid Link—a secure interface that handles the authentication process.
2. You Authenticate with Your Bank
You select your bank and enter your credentials directly in Plaid's secure environment. For banks that support it, Plaid uses OAuth, redirecting you to your bank's own login page.
3. Plaid Verifies Your Identity
Plaid connects to your bank's systems (via API or secure data access) and verifies your identity. Multi-factor authentication may be required.
4. Data is Securely Retrieved
Once authenticated, Plaid retrieves only the data types you've authorized—such as account numbers, balances, or transaction history.
5. Tokenized Access
The app receives a secure token, not your credentials. This token allows the app to request updated data through Plaid without you logging in again.
Plaid's Products
- Auth: Verify account ownership and retrieve account/routing numbers
- Transactions: Access categorized transaction history
- Identity: Retrieve account holder information
- Balance: Check real-time account balances
- Investments: Access investment account data
- Liabilities: Retrieve loan and credit card information
For a comprehensive technical guide on integrating with Plaid and other providers, see our [Open Banking API guide](/open-banking-api).
Apps and Products That Use Plaid
Many popular apps and services use Plaid to link your bank account. If an app asks you to "connect with Plaid" or shows the Plaid logo during sign-up, it uses Plaid for verification or data access.
Payment and money apps
- Venmo – Uses Plaid to link your bank for transfers and instant verification.
- Cash App – Uses Plaid to connect your bank for adding cash and withdrawals.
- PayPal – Some PayPal flows use Plaid for bank linking and verification.
- Zelle – Implementations vary by bank; some partner apps may use Plaid for account linking.
Investing and crypto
- Robinhood, Coinbase, Kraken – Use Plaid for bank linking and instant verification.
- Acorns, Betterment, Wealthfront – Use Plaid to connect accounts for funding and aggregation.
Neobanks and banking apps
- Chime, Varo, Current, Dave – Use Plaid for external account linking and transfers.
- Brigit, Earnin, Cleo, MoneyLion – Cash advance and budgeting apps often use Plaid to verify income and account access.
Business and accounting
- QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks – Use Plaid (or alternatives like MX) for bank feeds.
- Bill.com, Melio – Use Plaid for vendor and bank verification.
How to check if your app uses Plaid
When you tap "Connect Bank" or "Link Account," look for the Plaid name or logo on the connection screen. You can also see and manage all Plaid connections at [my.plaid.com](https://my.plaid.com).
For a full list of banks that work with Plaid, see the [Plaid supported banks](#supported-banks) table above.
What is the Plaid API?
The Plaid API is a set of developer interfaces that let applications securely connect to users' bank accounts, retrieve account and transaction data, verify identity, and initiate payments.
What is the Plaid API used for?
- Auth – Verify account ownership and retrieve account and routing numbers (e.g. for ACH).
- Transactions – Pull categorized transaction history for budgeting and analytics.
- Identity – Retrieve account-holder information for KYC and verification.
- Balance – Get real-time account balances.
- Investments – Access investment and brokerage account data.
- Liabilities – Retrieve loan and credit card data.
How to use the Plaid API
Developers integrate Plaid Link (the consumer-facing connection flow) and Plaid's backend APIs. After a user connects their bank through Link, your server uses the returned token to call Plaid's APIs for the data you need. Plaid provides SDKs for multiple languages and a [developer portal and documentation](https://plaid.com/docs) including sandbox environments.
Is Plaid an API? Plaid is a company and platform; the "Plaid API" refers to the HTTP APIs and SDKs they offer. For a technical overview of open banking APIs and how aggregators like Plaid fit in, see our [Open Banking API guide](/open-banking-api) and [financial account aggregation](/financial-account-aggregation) overview.
Plaid Pricing
Plaid operates on a B2B model—consumers don't pay to use Plaid when linking accounts. Businesses pay based on API usage.
For Consumers
Free. You'll never be charged for connecting your bank account through Plaid.
For Developers & Businesses
Plaid uses usage-based pricing. While exact costs aren't publicly listed, here's the general structure:
- Pay-as-you-go: Per-API-call pricing for production use
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for high-volume users
Typical Cost Ranges (based on industry reports):
- Auth verification: $0.30 - $0.50 per verification
- Transaction data: $0.10 - $0.30 per account/month
- Identity verification: $1.00 - $2.00 per verification
Getting Started
Developers can sign up for free at plaid.com/docs and access sandbox environments to test integrations before going live.