August 2020 Summaries

Atom Finance is an investment startup that aims to provide sophisticated investing resources for millions of US households invested in the stock market. The company offers a suite of products and features for investment research, including aggregating and tracking multiple investment accounts in one place. Content and notifications are customized based on users' holdings, while portfolio analytics offer big-picture insights. Atom Finance is working to fill the gap left by user-friendly trading apps that lack advanced tools for helping average Americans invest with confidence.

We're launching standing orders in Payment Initiation, allowing end users to make recurring, scheduled payments with one authorisation. Standing orders are fast and efficient payment methods that don't require direct debit mandates, enabling benefits such as reduced account errors and fees, and the ability to pay for purchases over time with credit installments. This feature is now available for use in Payment Initiation, making it easier for users to set up recurring payments, including subscriptions, rent payments, utilities, and more. Existing customers can access the new feature through their Growth Account Manager or by contacting the Sales team.

Meredith Fuchs, who has worked with organizations like CFPB and large banks, is joining Plaid as General Counsel to advocate for consumer financial empowerment. She believes that there's a massive opportunity to create equity and opportunity in the financial services industry through fintech innovations. However, these innovations must be governed effectively to protect consumers when necessary. The recently announced Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by CFPB aims to set critical rules for the industry. Financial institutions, regulators, fintech companies, and consumers are all navigating this shifting landscape with a shared commitment to ensuring that the future for consumers is bright.

As a product lead at FIT, responsible for managing the success of products and products managers, Kate Adamson was tasked with building a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) product in just 8 days. The project aimed to standardize and retrieve payroll data, making it easier for small businesses to apply for PPP loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the team working through weekends and limited sleep, they leveraged Plaid's existing infrastructure to build an integration that was familiar to their lender customers, helping them get the product adopted quickly. The result was an integration that aided more than a couple thousand small businesses in accessing funds they might not have received otherwise. Kate credits her upbringing as a dancer and lawyer, and her education at Princeton, with shaping her creative problem-solving skills and ability to take ownership of her surroundings. She emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and teamwork, citing Plaid's mission to "Make it better" as a guiding principle in her work. With her experience in sales, product management, and now leading a team of 15 product managers, Kate continues to drive innovation and impact at Plaid.

Plaid's Financial Access team aims to leverage digital transformation to improve financial health amidst COVID-19 challenges. The team will focus on three initiatives: delivering API-led solutions, building an Open Finance network, and advancing industry standards. These efforts aim to drive innovation in the financial ecosystem by connecting banks, fintechs, and consumers while benefiting the entire industry.

Plaid is continually improving its `Link` platform with two new enhancements: comprehensive account type/subtype filtering and improved error messaging. The former allows developers to filter specific account types or subtypes, making it easier for users to link institutions that match their needs. This feature can be used to customize the user experience, such as by showing only depository accounts or checking accounts. The latter updates provide more actionable insights and instructions for users when encountering errors, encouraging them to troubleshoot issues rather than simply being told that an institution cannot be connected.

In July 2020, Plaid introduced several updates to its platform. Key highlights include the launch of Link tokens, a new method for integration that uses one-time tokens instead of public keys. Additionally, event logs were released, allowing users to view Link data directly in the Dashboard. A webhook was added to notify when a user contacts Plaid to delete their data or change preferences. Integration coverage and quality improvements were made for BIPOC-owned banks. Lastly, updates to SDKs on iOS (v1.1.34) and Android (v2.1.0) were released, including support for Link tokens.