Last updated: March 2026
What is Plaid?
Plaid is a financial technology layer that lets apps connect to your bank or credit union with your permission. Instead of each app building its own connections to thousands of institutions, apps integrate Plaid once and use Plaid Link—a standardized, Plaid-hosted screen—so you sign in with your bank and choose what to share.
Common uses include personal finance and budgeting, moving money, lending decisions, and verifying account ownership. For product detail, pricing, and coverage, see our Plaid API aggregator profile.
How Plaid works
- You start in an app. When you choose to link a bank account, the app opens Plaid Link—a Plaid-hosted flow—not the app’s own login form.
- You pick your institution. You search for your bank or credit union. Plaid shows institutions it can connect to for that app.
- You sign in at your bank. You authenticate with your bank (often via OAuth to your bank’s site). Plaid does not give your password to the app.
- You choose what to share. You approve the types of data the app may access (for example balances or transactions), then Plaid issues secure tokens the app uses going forward.
Plaid use cases
Account linking & aggregation
Budgeting and money apps use Plaid to verify accounts and pull balances and transactions with your consent.
Payments & transfers
Some products use Plaid for bank-linked payments, payouts, or pay-by-bank flows where supported.
Identity & verification
Plaid offers identity and income products so businesses can verify users without storing bank passwords.
Developer integration
Teams integrate once with Plaid’s APIs to reach many institutions instead of building separate bank connections.
Security & compliance
Plaid publishes SOC 2 and other assurance work; connections rely on encryption and least-privilege access. Always review which app you are linking and what data you approve. More detail on safety and products is on the main Plaid page and in the FAQ below.
Banks with guides (sample — see directory for full list)
Bank not listed here?
Plaid supports 9699+ banks. Open the full searchable Plaid supported banks directory, or browse all providers.
Full Plaid bank listBrowse all providersRelated pages
- Plaid supported banks — full directory — searchable list, products, pricing overview
- What apps use Plaid
- Plaid alternatives
- Open Banking API guide
- API aggregators directory
Plaid integration FAQ
Plaid is a financial technology company that provides APIs and a consumer linking flow (Plaid Link) so apps can connect to users’ bank and credit accounts with permission. It acts as an intermediary: your login is handled in a secure Plaid flow, and the app receives tokens—not your password—to request allowed data.
Plaid uses encryption for data in transit and at rest, undergoes security audits, and offers a consumer portal (my.plaid.com) to see and revoke connections. You should only connect accounts through apps you trust; Plaid’s role is to broker secure, consent-based access.
Plaid supports a large and growing network of banks and credit unions. For the full searchable Plaid supported banks list with coverage counts, use our main Plaid directory page; this hub focuses on how Plaid Link works and per-bank connection guides.
In an app that uses Plaid, choose to add or link a bank account, then complete Plaid Link: select your institution, authenticate with your bank, and approve the data you want to share. You can revoke access later from the app or via Plaid’s consumer portal.
No. Plaid does not hand your bank password to third-party apps. Authentication happens in Plaid’s flow; apps typically receive access tokens scoped to what you approved, not your credentials.
Use my.plaid.com to see connections and revoke them, or disconnect from within each app’s bank-linking or security settings. Revoking removes that app’s access through Plaid for that link.
Developers register with Plaid, use Plaid’s APIs (for example Link, Transactions, Auth) in sandbox then production, and handle webhooks and compliance for their use case. For a broader comparison of aggregator APIs, see the Open Banking API guide and the full Plaid profile in our API aggregators directory.
Yes. The searchable Plaid supported banks list with institution counts lives on our main Plaid directory page. This page adds Plaid Link explainers, safety notes, and bank-by-bank guides. For Plaid’s official catalog, see Plaid’s documentation.
Thousands of banks and credit unions work with Plaid in supported countries; availability depends on the app, product (e.g. transactions vs. identity), and region. Search the main Plaid supported banks directory for your institution, or open the Plaid apps page to see common consumer products that rely on Plaid.
Many digital-first banks and neobanks that operate where Plaid is available can be linked through Plaid Link if the institution is on Plaid’s network. Search the main supported-banks directory; below you can open per-bank guides when we publish them. If an app says your bank is unsupported, that may be product-specific even when Plaid lists the bank.
Hundreds of fintech and enterprise apps use Plaid for linking, identity, or payments. See our dedicated page listing example apps and categories that integrate with Plaid, alongside alternatives and competitor comparisons.