“More and more fintech app users have gotten used to seeing Plaid’s logo pop up when they try to connect their bank accounts. Now Plaid is trying to play a similar role for crypto applications. The company is releasing a product for crypto developers Thursday that makes it easier for them to connect consumers’ crypto wallets to their apps. Security is an ongoing challenge for crypto, and crypto wallets in particular are a vector of attack. A number of hacking and social engineering attacks have occurred that find various ways to connect to the wallets of unsuspecting users and drain their tokens. Plaid’s new product is a way to address those fears, but it also feeds into an ongoing debate over just how decentralized crypto can be while addressing consumers’ needs for secure, easy-to-use apps.”

“A federal court judge on Wednesday approved banking app Plaid’s $58 million privacy class action settlement after consumers claimed the company had harvested and sold their financial data without consent. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu’s order found that 11 plaintiffs from five lawsuits, led by James Cottle, won payment for all impacted customers whose data was sold by the tech startup Plaid using their banking login credentials. Plaid provides bank “linking” and verification services for fintech apps that consumers use to send and receive money from financial accounts such as Venmo, Coinbase, Cash App and Stripe.  Cottle’s original complaint said when he signed up for a Venmo account in 2019, he did not know he was sharing his banking credentials with Plaid. He said the company hid the fact that it was accessing his sensitive financial information by prompting him to login to his bank to set up a Venmo account.  The case was combined with four other lawsuits brought in May, June and July 2020. Other plaintiffs said Plaid designed login screens in its interface to look like screens used by individual financial institutions, but failed to disclose to users that they were not interfacing with their bank.”

“During a time when Canadians’ appetite for digital services continues to increase, RBC and Plaid are pleased to announce a new data access agreement that will empower RBC clients with the option to share their financial data securely via a direct application programming interface (API) with the thousands of apps and services of their choice on the Plaid data network. This new API connection delivers a seamless user experience and eliminates the reliance on credential sharing, resulting in increased security and better protection of clients’ privacy.”

“Income and employment verification company Truework has partnered with Plaid to help the firm launch its new Plaid Income product. Plaid Income will bring greater accuracy, security, and speed to the loan application process. Prospective borrowers will be able to share income and employment data digitally and instantly with their approved lenders. Plaid Income will provide faster approvals for loan applicants while giving lenders greater confidence that they are lending the right amounts, to the right people, at the most appropriate interest rate.”

“Plaid Inc has agreed to pay $58 million to resolve consumers’ claims that the financial technology company obtained and used bank account credentials and financial information without consent. San Francisco-based Plaid also agreed in the nationwide settlement to change certain business practices, according to filings Thursday in California federal court made by lawyers for consumers.”

“One year ago, we launched Payment Initiation in the UK, which included a new Payment Initiation experience in Plaid Link. Link is the fastest way to get started. It’s optimised for a seamless experience, and ensures your user experience benefits from the full Plaid platform. Since then, we’ve focused on improving the user experience for making payments. We introduced QR code authentication to remove friction from the Plaid account linking desktop experience, enabling people to authenticate—and thus make payments—quickly and securely.”

“Plaid Inc must face some claims in a consolidated proposed class action that accuses the financial technology company of obtaining and using consumers’ banking account credentials and financial information without consent. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu in Oakland on Friday found the plaintiffs sufficiently allege invasion of privacy, violation of California’s anti-phishing law and other claims.”

“Financial-technology firm Plaid Inc. is planning to nearly double its size in Europe, focusing on expanding the business’s global reach after Visa Inc. ’s $5.3 billion acquisition fell through . Plaid will have about 80 employees in its London and Amsterdam offices by the end of 2021, up from 40 to 50 currently, Keith Grose, head of the San Francisco-based company’s international business, said in an interview.”

“Plaid is introducing a new product called Liabilities to help developers build applications around debt. For starters, Plaid is taking aim at a big problem in the U.S. — student loan debt . The product will expand to cover other kinds of debt over time, but the company wanted to start with student loans because of the depth of the problem. “We’re launching with student loan data given the crisis levels it has reached in the U.S., where it is the second largest debt category behind mortgage. Over 44 million people, hold $1.6 trillion in outstanding loans,” Plaid’s Kate Adamson wrote in a blog post introducing the new product.”