March 2025 Summaries

Migrating from a single Dockerfile to Bazel's rules_oci for container image building has significantly improved Plaid's CI speed, reducing median build times by half and shrinking images by 90%. The transition was made possible through careful planning, automation with Gazelle, and the use of ephemeral BUILD files. Key takeaways include choosing a remote cache provider, optimizing developer experience with BUILD file management, and avoiding common pitfalls such as running Gazelle on-save commands in IDEs. With Bazel's caching and strict dependency tracking, Plaid has streamlined its container image builds into a scalable system, meeting primary goals of faster CI and improved local development while uncovering opportunities for future improvements.

The latest product updates and enhancements from Plaid include improvements in Account Verification & Payments, Credit Underwriting, Fraud & Risk, Onboarding, Open Finance, Personal Finance Insights, and Developer Experience. Notable features include the introduction of multiple ledgers in Transfer, no more refund hold times in Transfer, instant Auth for 1,000 more financial institutions, support for cash management accounts, improved ledger management in the Transfer Dashboard, new insights for enhanced decisioning in Consumer Report, and enhanced liveness and ID document checks. Plaid has also expanded carrier support for Silent Network Authentication (SNA), added Integration Health (Beta) to troubleshoot errors, and introduced User Permissions for Data Partner Dashboard. Additionally, improvements have been made in Investments Move, 401k data and connectivity, merchant detection, and developer tools such as the demo center and launch center.

The latest updates from Plaid include enhancements across various products and solutions, including Account Verification & Payments, Credit Underwriting, Fraud & Risk, Onboarding, Open Finance, Personal Finance Insights, and Developer Experience. Key features introduced or improved in these areas include multiple ledgers in Transfer, instant refunds in Transfer, enhanced decisioning for Consumer Report, more flexibility when initializing Link, reduced latency for check reports, improved ledger management in the Transfer Dashboard, new insights for Consumer Report, support for cash management accounts in Auth, and several security measures to prevent deepfakes and synthetic camera sources from being injected into liveness checks and ID document verification. Additionally, Plaid has introduced a demo center and an improved launch center for new customers, making it easier to explore their products and get started with integrations.