Plaid Technology Intelligence

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a financial technology platform connecting applications to users' bank accounts. Founded in 2013, Plaid powers thousands of fintech apps by enabling secure access to financial data and payment initiation.

From Venmo to Robinhood, major financial apps use Plaid for bank account linking, identity verification, and transaction data access.

Key Features

Account Linking

• Link: Connect bank accounts
• Auth: Verify account ownership
• Balance: Real-time balances
• Transactions: Historical data

Identity

• Identity: Account holder info
• Assets: Proof of funds
• Income: Income verification

Payments

• Transfer: Move money
• Signal: Risk scoring
• ACH: Bank transfers

Use Cases

Personal Finance

Budgeting apps aggregate accounts from multiple banks. Transaction categorization and spending insights.

Lending

Lenders verify income and assets for loan decisions. Faster underwriting with automated data access.

Investment Apps

Trading platforms link funding accounts. Enable deposits and withdrawals via ACH.

Payment Apps

P2P payment services verify bank accounts. Secure payment initiation from linked accounts.

Code Examples

Link Token

const { Configuration, PlaidApi, PlaidEnvironments } = require('plaid');

const plaidClient = new PlaidApi(new Configuration({
    basePath: PlaidEnvironments.sandbox,
    baseOptions: { headers: { 'PLAID-CLIENT-ID': CLIENT_ID, 'PLAID-SECRET': SECRET } }
}));

const response = await plaidClient.linkTokenCreate({
    user: { client_user_id: 'user-123' },
    client_name: 'My App',
    products: ['transactions'],
    country_codes: ['US'],
    language: 'en'
});

Exchange Token

const exchangeResponse = await plaidClient.itemPublicTokenExchange({
    public_token: publicToken
});
const accessToken = exchangeResponse.data.access_token;

Comparison

vs Yodlee

• Modern: Plaid better DX
• Coverage: Both comprehensive
• Brand: Plaid consumer-known

vs MX

• Fintech: Plaid dominant
• Banks: MX bank-focused
• Ecosystem: Plaid larger

Why Plaid

• Industry-leading connectivity
• Consumer brand recognition
• Modern developer experience
• Comprehensive API suite