Plaid launches Gateway Partner Program to drive open banking compliance

The financial services industry is preparing for the release of the final Section 1033 rule mandating that financial institutions provide consumers with secure and reliable access to their financial data. At Plaid, we’re excited for this moment, which will usher in a new era of open banking in the U.S. We’re also listening to our financial institution partners, who say they have an urgent need for scalable, streamlined solutions to comply with the expected requirements of this regulation. Today, we’re addressing that need with the launch of our Gateway Partner Program. The Gateway Partner Program easily enables a single-point solution for financial institutions that will be expected to meet compliance requirements across all third parties and use cases. The program’s partners have been vetted for their ability to rapidly implement FDX-aligned APIs and have already integrated with Plaid’s network. This ensures financial institutions can quickly transition to 1033-aligned, API-based access with the thousands of apps and services in the Plaid network today.

Building on a history of partnership solutions

To date, more than 80% of Plaid’s traffic is on or committed to APIs. This is due to many years of working with financial institutions and digital banking platforms to ensure financial institutions offer customers the API connectivity that underpins open banking. Because of those efforts, more than 7,000 financial institutions have access to API connections with Plaid and are on a path to 1033 compliance. Earlier this year, we continued these efforts by launching our Open Finance Solution to assist financial institutions directly with open banking requirements. Our suite of three no-cost products—Core Exchange, Permissions Manager, and App Directory—is designed to help data partners easily enable, instantly view, and continuously manage connections to the thousands of apps across the Plaid network. Compliance is top of mind at every financial institution, and Plaid believes we can lead the way in coming up with solutions for our partner’s needs. 

In designing our Gateway Partner Program, we have taken learnings and best practices from working with digital banking platforms and directly with financial institutions. The partners that are part of our gateway program can bring the speed and ongoing support required as financial institutions navigate the regulatory transition, while maintaining a high standard of the technical readiness needed to support the scale and breadth of Plaid’s Network.

Partnering with Ninth Wave

We’re pleased to introduce Ninth Wave as our inaugural preferred gateway partner. They were carefully vetted based on specific criteria, including deep diligence on scalable, reliable tech, and readiness for 1033 obligations. 

"At Ninth Wave, we believe the future of open finance is built on strong, collaborative partnerships,” said Jack Cassaro, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Ninth Wave. “By working with Plaid through the Gateway Partner Program, we’re bringing together two complementary forces in the fintech ecosystem—secure connectivity and scalable compliance. This partnership acts as a force multiplier, enabling financial institutions to not only meet the demands of Section 1033 but to exceed them. Together, Ninth Wave and Plaid are driving the future of open finance, amplifying the impact we can have on the industry."

Together, we will continue to drive innovation in the financial services industry, ensuring institutions are well-prepared for Section 1033 and can meet the evolving demands of their customers. Our commitment to building a secure and scalable partner program underscores Plaid’s vision for the future: a financial system that is open, transparent, and built for the benefit of all.

Ensuring open banking accessibility for all financial institutions 

For many years, we’ve been dedicated to making open banking accessible for financial institutions and fintechs. The introduction of the Gateway Partner Program marks another significant step in Plaid’s journey toward enabling open banking across the ecosystem. 

We recognize that financial institutions are at different stages in their compliance journey, and for some, it may seem overwhelming. Every institution should be able to choose the approach that works best for them as they move forward with enabling open banking. By partnering with Ninth Wave and others, we are positioning financial institutions of all sizes to have access to resources so they can more easily meet compliance standards and embrace the opportunities that open banking presents.  

Learn more about Plaid's Open Finance Solutions.