Kevin JohnsonPlaid is a financial technology and services company based in San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 2013 by William Hockey and Zachary Perret to build APIs for data transfer networks. These APIs act as intermediaries between bank account holders and their financial apps and institutions.
In 2020, Plaid hired aggressively to meet consumer demand. The company is valued at $13.4 billion and employed over 1,250 people in 2021. In Dec 2022, Plaid announced plans to lay off 260 employees due to slower-than-anticipated growth throughout the industry. The company has raised $735 million in funding since its inception. [1]
Plaid’s platform enables apps to connect with users’ bank accounts. The company revolutionized how consumers transact by developing APIs for open banking. As of 2022, Plaid had created API connections to more than 200 million consumer accounts and integrated with over 11,000 banks.
Visa agreed to acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion in 2020, but the Department of Justice blocked the deal. In Apr 2021, Plaid raised $425 million in a Series D funding round to help the company fend off strong competitors, including Codat, Stripe, MX, Lightico, Yodlee, and Flinks. [2]
Here is an in-depth analysis of Plaid’s top 15 competitors and alternatives:
1. Codat
Year founded: 2017
Headquarter: London, United Kingdom
Codat is a startup that develops API to link SMB fintech data to external service providers. Its API connects corporate data from internal systems to authorized third parties.
In 2020, Codat’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased threefold compared to 2019. The company had around 250 employees and achieved a 9x gain in revenue at the end of 2021.
The main competitive advantage for Codat over Plaid is the simplicity of its API solution. For example, an entrepreneur seeking a loan can use Codat to submit their business financial data to a potential lender.
In Jul 2021, Codat closed a $40 million round led by Tiger Global. These funds can help Codat strengthen its platform and compete for Plaid’s market share. Codat is the top Plaid competitor and alternative. [3]
2. Stripe
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Stripe started as an online payment platform for merchants, but the company expanded its offerings to include income management, company incorporation, card issuance, and treasury services.
With a $74 billion valuation, Stripe is closer to an IPO than other Plaid competitors. The company has raised $2.2 billion in funding.
Stripe and Plaid were partners in the old days. In May 2022, Stripe introduced Financial Connections to link customers directly to their bank accounts and easily access data, but this service is similar to Plaid’s offering. So, Stripe can poach Plaid’s customers and is one of the top Plaid competitors. [4]
3. MX Technologies
Year founded: 2010
Headquarter: Lehi, Utah
MX is a financial technology company that offers customer identity verification, payment management, and AI-driven financial insights.
In Jan 2022, MX appointed a new CEO as it prepares for an IPO or sale. The firm was valued at $1.9 billion in the latest funding round in 2021. [5]
MX and Plaid offer similar features as both are pure-play financial service providers. MX connects 200 million customers to 13,000 financial institutions, about 2,000 more than Plaid.
API integration with established banks and fintech startups allows MX to process over 100 million transactions daily. MX is one of the best alternatives to Plaid across the board.
4. Lightico
Year founded: 2014
Headquarter: New York, NY
Lightico provides solutions to help businesses collect forms, documents, e-signatures, and photos. Users can also consent to disclosures and verify customer identity instantly using Lightico.
In November 2020, Lightico raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Capital One Ventures.
Lightico’s Digital Completion Cloud helps firms gather e-signatures, verify documents, and accept payments. In 2021, Lightico raised $27 million in two funding rounds. The firm aims to use these funds to expand its services and accelerate the adoption of its Digital Completion Cloud. Lightico is a fast-growing Plaid competitor. [6]
5. Envestnet Yodlee
Year founded: 1999
Headquarter: Redwood City, California
Yodlee is a leading data aggregation and analytics platform owned and operated by Envestnet Inc. It powers cloud-based innovation for digital financial services.
In 2022, Envestnet helped over 106,000 advisors and 6,500 companies improve the outcomes of their operations.
Both Yodlee and Plaid offer data aggregation and analytics for financial services. In Oct 2022, Envestnet expanded Yodlee’s open banking solution to Australia and New Zealand as part of its global expansion.
Yodlee customers can also access their credit cards, investment plans, emails, and travel reward accounts via the platform. As a subsidiary of Envestnet Inc, Yodlee has enough resources to challenge Plaid for more market share. [7]
6. Flinks
Year founded: 2016
Headquarter: Montreal, Canada
Flinks is a Canadian API developer specializing in financial services. The National Bank of Canada is Flinks’ majority stakeholder. In Nov 2021, Flinks collaborated with the National Bank and launched the Open Banking Environment (OBE). [8]
Flinks offers several financial solutions similar to Plaid. The launch of Flinks’ OBE, its first bank-centric product, can increase its competitive advantage over Plaid. The backing of the National Bank of Canada increases Flinks’ competitive advantage over Plaid.
7. IntSig OCR Solutions
Year founded: 2006
Headquarter: Milpitas, California
IntSig OCR Solutions offers several products for enterprises, including invoice management tools, CamScanner, CamCard, E-KYC, CamCheckout, and full-text recognition solutions. According to G2, IntSig’s CamCard APP and CamScanner APP have over 1 billion downloads.
IntSig helps users improve efficiency and productivity. Businesses use IntSig solutions to streamline the online banking process, from customer verification to checkout.
IntSig’s E-KYC (Know Your Customer) helps identify customers, while CamCheckout simplifies and secures checkouts. In Apr 2021, IntSig won App Annie’s Top 5 Publisher Award in the Business and Productivity Apps category. IntSig is an all-in-one alternative to Plaid. [9]
8. TrueLayer
Year founded: 2016
Headquarter: London, United Kingdom
TrueLayer offers data aggregation, user authentication, and funds transfer management. The company has raised $271.5 million since its founding.
In 2022, TrueLayer had around 440 employees; however, the firm plans to lay off 10% of its workforce due to challenging market conditions. [10]
TrueLayer and Plaid offer similar and competing financial services, but TrueLayer focuses more on the crypto, iGaming, fintech, and e-commerce industries.
In Apr 2022, TrueLayer launched the industry’s first open banking solution that supports several recurring payment options through a single API. TrueLayer is one of the best alternatives to Plaid for European consumers.
9. Dwolla
Year founded: 2008
Headquarter: Des Moines, Iowa
Dwolla is a fintech company that connects businesses to ACH and RTP networks. Startups and enterprise companies in every industry can use its platform to accept, collect, or facilitate account-to-account payments. In 2020, Dwolla processed over $20 billion in gross payment volume.
Dwolla provides an API that allows companies to facilitate fast payments. Over 3 million customers use its platform, including retailers and brands like GOAT, Rally, and Ibotta.
In Jul 2021, Dwolla raised $21 million in funding. The company will use the raised funds to grow its services beyond the US into Canada, the UK, and Australia, making Dwolla a fast-growing Plaid competitor. [11]
10. Berbix
Year founded: 2018
Headquarter: San Francisco, California
Berbix is a document and ID verification platform that allows businesses to verify docs and validate photo IDs, driver’s licenses, and passports. In its latest Series A funding round, Berbix raised $9 million with the backing of Mayfield investors.
Berbix provides instant and accurate document verification of documents. Like Plaid, Berbix allows developers to integrate its solution into their online services and apps with a few lines of code.
In Apr 2022, Berbix launched its new peer-to-peer (P2P) product, BerbixMe, to secure and simplify online interactions. Berbix is one of the best alternatives to Plaid for document and ID verification. [12]
11. Tink
Year founded: 2012
Headquarter: Stockholm, Sweden
Tink is a financial technology company that offers a single API to connect customers to bank accounts from their apps and services. Users can leverage its API to access account statements, initiate payments, and review their banking information. In Jun 2021, Visa agreed to acquire Tink for $2 billion. [13]
Tink connects with around 3,400 financial institutions and covers 250 million bank customers across Europe. Like Plaid, Tink provides a single API for app developers to interact with bank accounts across various institutions. As a subsidiary of Visa, Tink has enough resources to compete and grab Plaid’s market share.
12. Finicity
Year founded: 1999
Headquarter: Salt Lake City, Utah
Finicity offers a real-time financial data aggregation and insight platform. It helps users make informed financial decisions through safe and secure access to high-quality data. In 2020, Mastercard acquired Finicity for $825 million.
Mastercard integrated Finicity into its open banking platform. Individuals and organizations can use Finicity to access financial data in real-time to drive their financial decision-making.
In Mar 2022, Finicity partnered with Fiserv to improve data-sharing security and boost open banking. Finicity can leverage Mastercard’s immense resources to grab Plaid’s market share. [14]
13. Trustly
Year founded: 2008
Headquarter: Stockholm, Sweden
Trustly is a world leader in online banking payments. Its digital account-to-account platform links merchants with consumers directly from their online banking accounts.
In 2022, Trustly connected 8,100 merchants with 525 million consumers and 6,300 banks. Both Trustly and Plaid simplify online payments and fund management for companies, but Plaid integrates with more banks and financial institutions than Trustly.
In Apr 2022, Trustly won the 2022 FinTech of the Year for Retail Payments by FinTech Spotlight. Trustly is one of the top competitors for Plaid in Europe. [15]
14. Yapily
Year founded: 2017
Headquarter: London, United Kingdom
Yapily is a British open banking platform. In May 2022, Yapily announced a multimillion-euro deal to acquire finAPI. The two companies processed $39.5 billion in payment volumes within a year and can double their customer base together. [16]
Both Yapily and Plaid operate in the open banking sector, but Yapily is a low-level solution without a front-end interface. It is geared toward professional developers who can code their bank connection flow.
Yapily operates in 16 European markets and plans to expand into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary after acquiring finAPI. Yapily is one of the top Plaid competitors in Europe.
15. Solaris
Year founded: 2016
Headquarter: Berlin, Germany
challenge Plaid for more market share
References & more information
In Apr 2022, Berbix launched its new peer-to-peer (P2P) product, BerbixMe, to secure and simplify online interactions. Berbix is one of the
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