Cake Budget uses Plaid—the same technology trusted by Venmo, Acorns, Betterment, and thousands of other financial apps—to securely connect to your bank accounts and sync transactions automatically.

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a third-party service that acts as a secure bridge between Cake Budget and your bank.

How it works:

Your Bank ←→ Plaid ←→ Cake Budget

Instead of giving your bank credentials directly to Cake Budget, you authenticate through Plaid’s secure interface. Plaid then provides Cake Budget with read-only access to your transaction data.

Key Points:

Used by 8,000+ financial apps
Connects to 10,000+ banks and credit unions
SOC 2 Type II certified
Industry-standard security practices

What Data Gets Synced

Transaction Information

Every transaction includes:

Merchant name
Transaction amount
Date (when you made the purchase)
Pending vs. posted status
Transaction type (purchase, deposit, transfer)

How far back:

First connection: Up to 180 days of history
Ongoing: New transactions appear within seconds

Account Information

What’s synced:

Account name (e.g., “Chase Checking”)
Account type (checking, savings, credit card)
Current balance
Available balance

What’s NOT synced:

Full account numbers (only last 4 digits)
PINs or passwords
Social Security Numbers
Account statements

How Real-Time Syncing Works

The best part: Near-instant transaction updates.

When You Make a Purchase

1. You swipe your card at a store
   ↓
2. Transaction appears at your bank (pending or posted)
   ↓
3. Bank notifies Plaid
   ↓
4. Plaid immediately notifies Cake Budget
   ↓
5. Transaction appears in your app within seconds
   ↓
6. Rules automatically categorize it
   ↓
7. Your budget updates in real-time

Typical timing: 5-30 seconds from purchase to appearing in Cake Budget.

Backup Sync

Daily safety net:

Runs once daily at 3:00 AM
Catches any transactions that webhooks may have missed
Ensures your data is never more than 1 hour stale

Manual Sync

Need an immediate update?

Click “Sync Now” in Settings
Forces an instant sync of all your accounts
Useful for checking very recent transactions

Security & Privacy

Your Credentials

You authenticate directly with Plaid, not Cake Budget:

Plaid window opens
You enter your bank username/password
Credentials go only to Plaid
Plaid authenticates with your bank
Plaid gives Cake Budget a secure access token

Your bank credentials are NEVER:

❌ Seen by Cake Budget
❌ Stored by Cake Budget
❌ Transmitted through Cake Budget’s systems

Encryption

All data is encrypted:

Bank-grade 256-bit encryption in transit
Encrypted storage of access tokens
Secure API communication
Industry-standard security practices

Read-Only Access

What Cake Budget can do:

✅ View transactions
✅ View account balances
✅ View account names and types

What Cake Budget CANNOT do:

❌ Transfer money
❌ Initiate payments
❌ Withdraw funds
❌ Change account settings
❌ Access account documents

Strictly read-only. We can see your data but never move your money.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Plaid supports all bank MFA methods:

SMS codes
Email verification
Push notifications to your phone
Security questions
Authenticator apps

Your bank’s security stays fully active when connected through Plaid.

Connection Management

Active Connections

While connected:

Transactions sync automatically
Balances update in real-time
No re-authentication needed (unless expired)

Connection status visible in Settings:

Green: Connected and syncing
Yellow: Reconnection needed soon
Red: Connection expired

Connection Expiration

Connections expire when:

You change your bank password
Your bank requires periodic re-authentication (typically every 90-180 days)
MFA settings change at your bank
Bank system upgrades

How you’ll know:

Email notification
In-app banner
Warning in Settings

Reconnecting:

Click “Reconnect” button
Enter current bank credentials
Complete any MFA challenges
Connection restored immediately
No data loss or duplicates

Removing Connections

To disconnect a bank:

Settings → Accounts & Institutions
Find the institution
Click “Remove”
Confirm

What happens:

Future syncing stops
Historical transactions remain
Access token revoked
Can reconnect later if needed

Supported Banks

Coverage:

10,000+ US banks and credit unions
All major national banks
Regional banks
Most credit unions
Credit card issuers
Some investment platforms

Major banks supported:

Chase
Bank of America
Wells Fargo
Citi
Capital One
US Bank
PNC
TD Bank
And thousands more

Check if your bank is supported:

Search during connection flow
If it appears, it’s supported
If not, contact support@trycakebudget.com

Data Usage & Privacy

What Cake Budget Does With Your Data

Used for:

✅ Transaction categorization
✅ Budget tracking
✅ Safe-to-Spend calculations
✅ Funding schedule detection
✅ AI insights (if you enable them)

NOT used for:

❌ Selling to third parties
❌ Advertising
❌ Credit checks
❌ Lending decisions
❌ Any purpose outside budgeting

Data Retention

While subscribed:

Transactions stored indefinitely for historical tracking
Account balances updated continuously

After unsubscribing:

Syncing stops
Historical data preserved for 90 days
Resubscribe to restore access

After account deletion:

All data deleted within 30 days
Plaid connections permanently revoked

Plaid vs. Other Connection Methods

Why Plaid Instead of Account Aggregation?

Traditional aggregation:

Screen scraping (simulates you logging in)
Fragile (breaks when bank updates website)
Slow (no real-time updates)
Security concerns (stores credentials)

Plaid API:

Direct bank API integration
Reliable and stable
Real-time webhook updates
Never stores credentials
Bank-approved partnerships

Why Not Bank APIs Directly?

Each bank has different APIs:

Would need to integrate 10,000+ banks individually
Inconsistent data formats
Different security requirements
Massive development effort

Plaid provides:

Single integration point
Normalized data format
Consistent security
Maintained by Plaid team

Common Questions

Q: Is it safe to connect my bank through Plaid? A: Yes. Plaid is used by thousands of major financial apps and is SOC 2 Type II certified. Your credentials never reach Cake Budget’s servers.

Q: Can Cake Budget move money from my accounts? A: No. Cake Budget has read-only access. We can only view data, never transfer or withdraw funds.

Q: What if my bank isn’t supported? A: Plaid supports 10,000+ banks. If yours isn’t available, contact support@trycakebudget.com to request it.

Q: How often do transactions sync? A: Instantly via webhooks when transactions post at your bank, plus a daily backup sync at 3 AM.

Q: Does connecting affect my credit score? A: No. Viewing transactions doesn’t impact credit scores. No credit checks are performed.

Q: What if I have issues connecting? A: Check status.plaid.com for known issues, verify your credentials, or contact support@trycakebudget.com.

Q: Can I disconnect anytime? A: Yes. Remove connections in Settings anytime. Historical data is preserved.

How to Connect Your Bank Account - Step-by-step connection guide
Reference: Security & Privacy - How your data is protected
Reference: Pricing and Plans - Connection limits by tier

Learn more about Plaid: Visit plaid.com for detailed information about their security and bank partnerships.