March 2022 Summaries

In 2021, Plaid established a formal Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) team to enhance their commitment to DEIB efforts. They have made progress in increasing representation of women and Black employees across the company, but still aim to focus on further growing these communities and increasing leadership diversity. Efforts include hiring for a Diversity Program Manager, launching the Pleadership rule aimed at increasing diversity in leadership positions, and expanding their Plaid Community Groups (PCGs). In 2022, they plan to expand DEIB measures, learn more about inclusion and representation outside of the United States, and enable their leaders with tools and resources.

The UK payment landscape is undergoing a significant change with the CMA's decision to mandate variable recurring payments (VRPs) as the mechanism for sweeping, which will enable consumers to automatically move money between bank accounts and third-party accounts. This technology has several benefits for banks, including deepening relationships with customers, fighting fraud, and remaining central to a user's financial life. By supporting VRPs, banks can improve customer value propositions, enhance relevancy and retention, and reduce the likelihood of fraud while maintaining account primacy in the face of increasing digital connectivity and fintech competition. A leading open banking platform like Plaid is well-positioned to support both mandated and commercial VRP use cases, enabling banks to comply with regulations and unlock new innovation and digital payment experiences.

Plaid has released a new categorization taxonomy for personal financial management apps and tools, featuring 16 primary and 104 detailed categories. The update aims to provide higher-quality category predictions. Additionally, Plaid encourages developers to upgrade their SDKs to the latest versions, with support ending for older versions soon. A new account select pane will be automatically included in the Plaid Link flow starting March 31st. Plaid is hosting several virtual events, including a Tech Talk and a webinar on integrating its data connectivity platform with Marqeta's modern card-issuing platform. The company also announced that BlueVine can make loan decisions 4x faster using Plaid's technology.

Plaid, a company focused on building an inclusive digital financial ecosystem, has announced that its Plaid Exchange integration with Green Dot's GO2bank is now live on the Plaid network. This partnership enables underbanked customers of GO2bank to securely connect their accounts to over 6,000 apps powered by Plaid. The open finance solutions provided by Plaid have helped customers from hundreds of banks securely connect their accounts to other digital financial services. With this integration, GO2bank customers can now manage their finances seamlessly, affordably, and with confidence. This collaboration between Plaid and Green Dot is a step towards providing equitable access to digital financial services for the unbanked or underbanked population in America.

Shano Fonseka, Head of Risk at Plaid, has a background in finance and risk management, having worked at investment firms and security companies. She joined Plaid to tackle the company's mission to unlock financial freedom for everyone, particularly underserved communities. Shano believes that her diverse background and experience have enabled her to bring unique perspectives to the role of Head of Risk, where she leads Plaid's risk team in managing risks in its customer ecosystem and ensuring compliance with security standards. She values the inclusive culture at Plaid, which allows her to be herself and brings together people from different backgrounds to create a strong team. Shano is passionate about empowering her team to do meaningful work and feels privileged to work alongside them.