Plaid is a trusted partner in the fintech industry for creating secure electronic connections between financial institutions and applications. Their program is used by companies like Acorns, American Express, Venmo, and Betterment.
Earnest has also chosen to partner with Plaid to help reduce the review time by allowing clients to log in to their financial accounts from our platform. An electronic connection allows us to verify your income, assets, and expenses rapidly (and, in some cases, instantaneously). In an electronic connection, verifying documents, like pay stubs or account statements, are typically unnecessary. If you are having trouble connecting your account to Plaid or receive a notice from your bank, please refer to this article.
What does Plaid do with my information?
Plaid will use the account log-in information to provide Earnest with the data necessary to verify the strength of your financial profile while also protecting your personal information. Plaid does not share your account login or password with Earnest or any other application that may use their service. Earnest does not have access to your username, password, account number, or routing number; therefore, we have no ability to take money out of, put money into, or otherwise modify your bank account details. The data we receive is encrypted as a screenshot of your monthly statement and shields your actual account information.
For more information on what data is shared, feel free to check out plaid’s privacy policy here.