Plaid, a relatively ‘under-the-radar’ San Francisco-based FinTech, that is used by many other FinTech companies across the United States and Canada, has gained momentum since its decision to launch in Canada last year.
The company, which enables applications to connect with users’ bank accounts, has added coverage to over 20 major financial institutions and credit unions, including RBC, Scotiabank, TD, BMO, CIBC, Tangerine, and Capital One Canada. The new net institutions are primarily credit unions such as Vancity, BlueShore Financial, and Prospera, but also included are Desjardins, National Bank of Canada, President’s Choice, and Simplii.
“We think about making money easier for everyone. That’s not just a U.S.-only mission.”
The company’s Canadian expansion began last year, when Plaid announced that its services are now compatible with both US and Canadian dollars, an attempt aimed to both shore-up its current clients’ Canadian expansions, as well as draw in new Canadian FinTech players.
“For the past few months, we’ve been running in beta in Canada with a number of customers, including Drop and Wave,” Zach Perret, co-founder and CEO of Plaid, told American Banker last year. “Now, we’re excited to open up access to Canadian institutions to everyone, whether you’re thinking about building products specific to Canada or expanding across the border.”
Plaid is a technology platform and data network that provides the tools and access needed for the development of a digitally-enabled financial system. Plaid aims to enable developers, from startups to big banks, to develop financial services and applications.
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Plaid’s APIs are used by a variety of companies in order to build their own FinTech products, and Plaid’s clients already represent a broad spectrum of the financial technology industry, including Wealthsimple, Drop, and Wave. Peret said Canadian expansion is the start of the company’s effort to provide services worldwide.
“Since our launch, Plaid has allowed Drop to connect directly with consumers, which allows Drop’s members to spend and earn rewards seamlessly,” said Drop CEO Derrick Fung told American Banker last year. “Plaid’s launch in Canada is very exciting because it will help to improve the integrations Drop has with Canadian financial institutions.”
In December, Plaid closed a $250 million USD Series C funding round led by VC and Internet Trends author, Mary Meeker, according to TechCrunch. This round brought the company’s total funding to $310 million with investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Goldman Sachs, NEA, and Spark Capital.
“We think about making money easier for everyone, allowing people to live the financial life they want to live,” said Perret. “And that’s not just a U.S.-only mission.”