Is Plaid Safe to Use?

September 23, 2024 By Johan Curtis No Comments 8 minutes

Plaid is a financial app that helps you bank from the tap of your smartphone. Is Plaid safe to use? Why must you use Plaid? What happens if you don’t use it? Is it necessary to use, or does it depend on some factors you are unaware of? These and other questions of yours are covered in this blog.

NOTE: Plaid facilitates communications and operations between a user’s bank and the app he uses for financial services with full security. Just like Plaid, a VPN is a channel that enhances a user’s online experience and keeps him secure browsing online. To keep yourself protected from internet threats and low-speed bandwidths, get a FastestVPN subscription today.

You must protect your network if you have a bank account and use a third-party app to make payments online. How could you secure your bank account and make seamless payments from P2P apps without worrying about your personal information being at risk? These and other questions are discussed further in this blog.

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What Is Plaid?

Plaid is a fintech organization application used by over 12,000 companies in North America and Europe. It helps connect users to third-party financial applications like Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, etc., and smooth out their transactional operations.

The company, which started in 2013 and has its headquarters in San Franciso, California, operates in more than 10 countries. These countries include the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, and Norway. However, Plaid continues to expand worldwide, and the next targets will be Austria and Finland to continue its operations.

Plaid doesn’t only support the leading countries in fintech on the two continents; it’s also a lot about supported products. These products help in transactions, bank authentications, checking real-time account balances, showcasing investment opportunities, and much more. To learn more about the countries and products Plaid supports, have a look at their page.

Is Plaid Safe to Use?

Plaid has a network of 100 million+ people and 12000 organizations across two continents using the platform. So, it is a safe bet to say that, YES, Plaid is indeed safe to use. It isn’t just a fintech company. It is also a solution to the financial expectations and needs of banks, organizations, institutions, corporations, and individuals are always looking out for.

By connecting your bank account with Plaid and then having Plaid become a gateway to connect to a third-party application, you are permitting Plaid to protect your online transactions and interfere in every need of yours that requires cash or your bank somehow.

How Does Plaid Work

Many people have this question when prompted to the Plaid screen when they install a third-party payment app. This is exactly what Plaid does. It connects third-party P2P payment apps to your bank accounts and acts as a secure gateway between the connections.

Plaid has already partnered with more than 11,000 financial organizations in the USA, UK, Germany, etc. You just have to open the Plaid app and follow the steps required.

So, when you open a Plaid-supported app, you must choose your institution from a dropdown menu. Once you enter your credentials, it will take seconds for you to be redirected to the app of your choice. Plaid will work behind the scenes, and you will never have to worry about your credentials being stolen or seen as Plaid takes full care of it.

For example, when you use an app like Venmo to pay a friend or a family member, you must enter your credentials in the app. Now, Plaid will confirm with Venmo that you are indeed trying to access the Venmo app. It will then prompt your bank to proceed with the transaction. This is how Plaid works, completely as a middleman, like the channel, which makes everything easier and secure.

How To Use Plaid

So, how do you use Plaid? Using Plaid is very easy since you don’t even have to install an application. Once you open the third-party app with which you plan to connect your bank account, it redirects you to the Plaid interface.

Over 100 million people worldwide use Plaid to enhance their online security. 2,000+ financial institutions also trust it in 15+ countries from Europe and North America. Moreover, Plaid depends on 8,000+ fintech apps worldwide.

Are you wondering how to use Plaid? You only have to enter your banking information in the app once. Plaid uses this information to enhance your online transaction experience for future purposes.

Whether you are receiving money or sending it, once you configure with Plaid, you do not have to worry about the intricacies of dealing with potential scams in the name of third-party apps. Your login information and other confidential data are only visible to Plaid.

Still, if you feel like that’s a lot of information for Plaid, you can manually change the access to this information through the settings.

What Information Can Plaid See?

Plaid does have access to your confidential information. However, you may choose to allow Plaid to have access to limited information.

The information that Plaid can access includes:

Account name
Account type
Account number
Routing number
Account balance
Transaction history
Transaction date
Transaction type
Transaction amount
Full name
Phone number
Address of the user
Email address

How To Connect Plaid to Your Bank

Using Plaid is connecting your bank with Plaid. This is how it happens. Once you open your bank app, you are redirected to the Plaid interface, or vice versa, if you open Plaid to connect with your bank account.

Now, you will be asked to enter your login information, passwords, and other credentials. You might feel anxious as to why would you enter such confidential information in another app. However, you won’t have to enter it again in a third-party application. In fact, you can control what information you want the Plaid app to see and what any third-party app must see.

Where Is Plaid Available?

With more than 12,000 institutions under its wing, Plaid is available in 10+ countries in North America and Europe. These countries include:

USA
Canada
UK
Ireland
Germany
France
Netherlands
Spain
Sweden
Denmark
Poland
Portugal
Lithuania
Italy
Latvia
Norway
Estonia
Belgium

Plaid is expanding its operations beyond these countries. Austria and Finland are the two countries expected to begin with Plaid services next.

Who Uses Plaid?

From individuals to small organizations, large corporate firms, world-leading institutions, and finally, some of the biggest banks in the world have partnered up with Plaid to be their financial solutions company.

Banks, institutions, small and large businesses, and individuals all use Plaid to gain peace of mind while making online payments.

The Banks that use Plaid

More than 12000 banks in the USA, Canada, and Europe use Plaid as their fintech partner. Which banks are these, and how do they work with Plaid? Access the complete list of banks and the purpose they use Plaid for over here.

The Apps that Use Plaid

Once you connect your bank to a third-party app, you need Plaid to ensure complete online security while dealing with payments, receiving, or sending. So, which apps use Plaid as their financial solution and needs? These needs could be mobile banking, building financial health, investments, loan applications, and more. Access the complete list on the official page.

List of Plaid Partners

You can access the list of all Plaid partners here. You can also search online for a name or industry.

How Does Plaid Protect Your Information

The best thing about Plaid and Plaid-powered apps is that whenever you use them, Plaid acts as the true protector. Plaid has the best industry-standard protocols that keep the user information safe and enhance the user experience.

Encryption

Plaid uses Advanced Encryption Standard and protects your data with the best encryption protocols, including Transport Layer Security. TLS and AES-256 are the best encryption protocols that industry-leading VPN providers like FastestVPN use.

Top-tier Infrastructure

Plaid works on cloud infrastructure technologies to enhance your financial operations.

Robust Authentication

Forget about scammers and frauds with Plaid’s unbreakable secure authentication features.

Eagle-eye Monitoring

Developers and teams from banks and other organizations regularly access the Plaid APIs to modify and strengthen the fintech company’s features. Those monitoring these APIs are even more focused on making the platform a secure interface for users worldwide.

FAQs - Is Plaid Safe To Use

What Is Plaid?

Plaid is a fintech organization that acts as a channel between your online payment application and your bank account. It is currently in use at more than 10,000 organizations in North America and Europe, and its network is set to expand further in the coming years.

How Safe Is Plaid To Use?

Plaid is a facilitator between your bank accounts and your P2P banking apps. If you have Plaid enabled with your payment apps, you don’t have to worry about security, as Plaid will guarantee it. So, connecting your bank account and payment apps is the safest option.

How To Connect Cash App To Plaid?

Plaid has already been built into the Cash App. You only have to access Lincoln Savings Bank from the list of banks you are prompted to choose from, as it is partnered with Cash App and is tasked with direct deposits through Cash App.

Is Plaid Safe To Use On Robinhood?

Robinhood facilitates the buying and selling of investments online. It is a big payment under consideration for the user who is dealing with it online. However, once you connect Robinhood through Plaid, the app will have to ask Plaid for the account information, and it will never access this kind of information on its own. So, connecting Robinhood through Plaid is a major security boost.

The Final Say

People who are redirected to the Plaid screen once they open a third-party app may have second thoughts about continuing with their journey of online transactions. However, over 12000 organizations use Plaid, including the leading names and well-known corporations. This indicated that they were doing something right. With industry-leading features customized to give users peace of mind while making payments through P2P apps online. These security features are in use by the leading VPN providers in the world, including FastestVPN, with the best encryption protocols and infrastructure. Subscribe to FastestVPN today!