What is Plaid and is it Safe?

Plaid is one of many mobile apps out there to help us manage our finances. Whether it’s sending money to someone or creating a personal budget, smartphone apps are powerful enough to help us out.

However, most apps need you to connect your bank account to work efficiently. You are asked to share your login details, and that is precisely where you start getting nervous.

Plaid is just one such name you come across frequently while syncing your financial app with your bank. It also asks for your banking information and, therefore, has prompted many to be cautious. But what exactly is Plaid? What is its purpose? And most importantly, is Plaid safe?

Let’s find out!

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a service that helps financial apps link to your bank account. It serves as a middleman and facilitates various tasks you perform with your app. Several leading services like You Need a Budget, Coinbase, and Robinhood rely on Plaid to provide services.

Let’s say you want to check your account balance using an app. However, to do that, the app has to source information from your bank account.

Plaid comes in handy in such situations to help your app communicate with your bank. It connects to apps using something called API to exchange data and information.

Plaid also comes into the picture for other tasks like sending money from your app. Here, Plaid will ensure the correct sum is deducted from your account based on your request.

Each app uses Plaid in a specific way to achieve its objectives and provide a smooth user experience.

Is Plaid Safe?

You need to be very careful about whom you should divulge your bank details with. If it falls into the wrong hands, you can lose your entire savings. Additionally, malicious persons can steal your data and private information too.

Therefore, everyone should be cautious while using any financial service, including Plaid.

Fortunately, Plaid is a reputed company and trusted by leading financial institutions. More than 4,500 apps use Plaid to offer advanced features that you use every day.

In addition, Plaid makes its privacy policy very clear. The company doesn’t share your data with anyone except the apps you use.

Moreover, Plaid takes several steps to ensure your private information stays protected. Here is why you can use Plaid with complete peace of mind:

You Are in Control of Your Data

Plaid puts you in complete control of your data. You can precisely choose what you want to share and with whom, right from your app.

Plaid doesn’t use your data without permission.

Additionally, you have the Plaid portal to view all your connected apps and stored data on the platform. You can even choose to delete all your data on Plaid whenever you want.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

MFA is an excellent way to secure your accounts and prevent unauthorized access. It uses two steps to verify it is really you who is trying to perform the task.

We all have used MFA when providing OTP sent to our phones to sign into our net banking.

Advanced Encryption

Plaid encrypts any data you exchange between your app and bank account. Encryption turns your data into unreadable code that only your device can decode with a key.

As a result, anyone trying to intercept your data is bound to fail. Plaid uses advanced TLS certificates to ensure industry-grade encryption.

Secure Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud computing is designed to offer maximum security. Plaid uses a highly secure cloud infrastructure with industry best practices for complete assurance.

You will never have to worry about someone hacking your bank account!

24/7 Monitoring

Plaid invests in round-the-clock monitoring to protect your account without exception. It also has a team on standby to jump in and take control in case anything goes wrong.

Additionally, you get instant alters and notifications if Plaid discovers something suspicious with your account.

Final Thoughts

Plaid is entirely safe to use. It uses robust security protocols to protect your data and prevent unauthorized access. In addition, you can control what you share and manage everything from your Plaid portal.

Best of all, the company runs regular security audits to leave no stones unturned.

• Get the latest blogs from Mesh by subscribing to our newsletter

Sarah Murphy

Sarah is a Content Manager for Mesh Payments. Before working in marketing, she completed her Master of Journalism degree at Toronto Metropolitan University (f.k.a. Ryerson University) and worked as an arts journalist in Toronto. She was a content writer for tech companies in the retail and workforce management sectors before joining Mesh in 2022.