Verified by Plaid, then I changed my bank password and now no longer verified?

[#1]

Any ideas on what is going on?

August 25: I did instant verification using Plaid. I got a message on my dashboard that I had been verified.

August 31: I had a small balance to be deposited, so I waited the required five days and then requested it.  Received the deposit later that day. Then, I went to delete any connection between my account and Plaid with my bank. I changed my bank account password. 

September 2: I get a message that Plaid couldn't verify my account.

I'm not sure what is going on. I thought once my account was verified that I could change my banking password for security.

[ZehOriginalArt]

@NanaLetha 

I wonder if it has to do with the agreement different banks have with Plaid. Some banks may not allow apps like that to be installed while others do.

[luxcrafter]

Sounds to me that this 'verification' is a front, and that Plaid expects you to allow it continued access to your fiscal data or it will 'unverify' you.  IOW a positive verification can suddenly become undone when you relinquish all permission to access your accounts.

Not surprising since reports state Plaid uses this data for farm more undisclosed purposes, other than just a minor Etsy verify checkmark.  IOW, once you've given the pw access to plaid you can't recind and for all intents and purposes, become an inclined plain wrapped helically around an axis.

Read this and shudder ... The Plaid Business Model – How Does Plaid Make Money? (productmint.com)

Key excerpts:

-users need to connect their bank accounts to be able to deposit and retrieve money or let the apps analyze financial statements

-end-users opt in to share persona information with Plaid, including their name, account number, account type (debit or credit, for instance), balance, and many more.

-companies can use Plaid for a variety of use cases such as checking an account’s balance or transaction history, verifying one’s employment or income, conduct global identity verification, getting an overview of a person’s investments, and many more.

-US antitrust concerns between Plaid and Visa merger in 2020 killed in 2021

- companies [Etsy in this case] use transaction (access detailed transaction history), authentication (grant access to user’s bank account), and balance (verifying account balance in real-time) products, respectively.

-once customers [Etsy] decide to opt into the paid service, they will have to pay a variety of fees depending on the type of product they use.

-a one-time fee is applied whenever a new user account is connected to the Plaid API. A subscription fee is paid for every facilitated transaction (such as making a payment).

-additionally, companies [Etsy] pay a fee whenever they issue a request against the API to check a user’s account balance.

-the EU is taking steps to limit what Plaid can access or do. The US is not following this lead.

[PillowDetails]

Good gravy, I just don't know what's going on with Plaid.  This is crazy!

[HangARibbonOnTheMoon · Accepted solution]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions!

Here's my status right now:

I was able to request a call from Etsy help and they called within two minutes. It is possibly a glitch. The solution was for them to unlink my bank account completely and for me to re-enter my banking information again.  My account should not be placed on vacation because of this. I just re-entered my banking info and am now waiting for the small deposits from Etsy to come in the next few days. NOTE: I added in my "new" bank information (account name, number, routing, etc.) through Plaid.

This has been frustrating and I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else!

[MysticMare]

How were you able to request a call from Etsy? I’ve been trying to connect with Etsy support for over 2 weeks about verifying with Plaid am only getting canned copy and paste runarounds from chat and email support. I need to speak to a human.

Thanks!

[luxcrafter]

Try https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?segment=selling&fbclid=IwAR3XJULkao3ZPR8XcOEf2A7143n87Xt...

[StitchedByHand]

how did you request a call from ETSY???

I have completed the ridiculous process of bank verification, but my funds are still unavailable.  It has been well past the 5 business days 

[LuannesArtGlass]

How were you able to get a phone call from Etsy?  I'm trying to find a phone number for them.

Thanks.

[BagmakerSupply]

My interpretation is that Plaid wants login information so they can data mine. https://plaid.com/legal/#how-we-share-your-information says, among other things, "Plaid may collect the following: ... Financial information (for example, financial account name and number, balance, and transaction history); ... Professional information (for example, information about your employer and payroll information); and ...Inferences that we have derived from the information we’ve collected (for example, we may derive location from IP address or your annual income from your pay stubs).". Neither Plaid nor Etsy needs all that information to meet Anti Money Laundering regulations or to deposit your money into your account.

[TagTeams]

That's a Lot of unnecessary info they'd have access to.  Especially, given reasons for the change.  smh

[JamesonVintage]

Exactly!

[TheMarbleTea]

Why did Etsy censor my post saying exactly the same thing, calling it provocative when other people seem to be able to ask these questions? It's FB and Twitter all over again....sheesh!

[blzopbhi]

In this case, there should be a convention in OP's bank online settings that permit removing plaid association from their account. Best to contact the bank and ask how to do it if there are any questions.

Plaid is just another way Etsy wastes money to screw with sellers.

[SugarTaffySoap]

@HangARibbonOnTheMoon I hope it all works out. Let us know ok? I did Manual and am waiting the "5 days" (for "security purposes") for Etsy to deposit. 

[StitchedByHand]

Don't hold your breath!

[NanaLetha]

@ZehOriginalArt  That might be true. I do have 2 other apps showing on my bank account but Etsy was never there.

[Former_Member]

-companies can use Plaid for a variety of use cases such as checking an account’s balance or transaction history, verifying one’s employment or income, conduct global identity verification, getting an overview of a person’s investments, and many more.

No thanks.

[ManInTheMoonHerbs]

They can only access that info if you give them your username and password. 

[leilahamaya]

so this happened to me too. got the plaid verification some week and a half ago, two weeks? whatever it was, quite a while ago.

verified with PW before reading here it was better to do manual and that plaid is looking for constant access to your account for no reason.

but all went through, it was verified, all set. received several deposit from etsy since, and then just changed my bank password a couple of days ago, and now -- get an email suddenly etsy cant suddenly verify my account, wants me to do it again.

they already verified it, all done-  and obviously they know who i am, been using the same account for many years, never had any issues. now this.

[ColorfulCastAndCrew]

I'm finding this whole thing really disturbing. What sort of system is Etsy using that's causing all these glitches and errors, concerning our finances none the less.

[SeasideRoseCreations]

@ColorfulCastAndCrew 

It's disturbing because in countless threads, the advice has been given to those that used "instant" to go back and change their password.

Which, I might add, I think is useless.  Somewhere in the 1/2 billion Plaid threads, it's been discussed that once they have your info, changing the password is irrelevant.  But what do I know.  

[leilahamaya]

once i read all the threads here, well...i thought i was starting to get paranoid.

but i figured i should change my password anyway, it is good to do every so often regardless. and just in case it was going to now continually access and mine my account.

i was not expecting it to suddenly unverify me or whatever is going on. i thought it would have no effect. so i am surprised, but it was all verified and now its telling me to do it again, and this is weeks after i verified it.

I am going to wait until after this weekends payout, and talk to etsy. at the least it is a specific business account, but still.

[ZehOriginalArt]

@leilahamaya 

I suggest that you also check your bank account's security settings to be sure Plaid is not a connected app. Because you have to re-verify after changing your password, I am guessing it is not, however you may want to make sure.

Some sellers found Plaid was connected and they disabled it in their bank's security settings. Others found it was not connected. It likely has to do with how your bank handles things like Plaid.

[leilahamaya]

i did check at my bank account, i could not find anything. right after getting the etsy email that said i was no longer verified. well after coming here to see if anyone else had this and finding this thread.....

this could be happening to many people and they arent posting. i am half tempted to mess around with it, see if doing it instantly and changing my password again unverifies me. but only half tempted, i'd rather it just be sorted out. as it is - i will have to wait on the manual thing now. or etsy will help me with this, because i am not doing it instantly again.

but there was nothing at my bank online portal that i could find. all there was was an invitation to set up quick books. that doesnt mean anything though, it could be just set up as a hidden integration or whatever. i looked all around in my bank account , there was nothing showing plaid anywhere.

[JMOldeVintage]

Okay, the OP & now leilahamaya have had the same issue - using the Instant method, waiting to be sure normal shop deposits go through, then changing their password & suddenly they are no longer verified.

Realize that many shop owners never come to the forums or are "lurkers". In reality I wonder how many shop owners have had this problem?
Security experts often suggest people change their passwords frequently. Some banks require password changes.

Etsy needs to step up here & explain what is happening.