CUSTOMER: Sofi
Better data, better insights
With Plaid, SoFi members can connect all their financial accounts and get access to real-time, personal insights that enable them to achieve their financial goals faster.
Goal
Reduce fraud risk, unlock instant funds
Region
United States
Industry
Fintech
Being financially independent looks different for everyone, and so does what it takes to get there.
Unless you win the Powerball, it takes planning, diligence, and financial smarts to understand how best to put your money to work. But where do you even begin? Personal finance company SoFi set out to tackle this challenge in 2019 with the launch of Insights (formerly known as Relay), an online budget planner and money tracker app. Insights tracks all your money, all in one place, while giving you access to valuable features such as credit score monitoring, spending breakdowns, financial insights, and more—at no cost.
To unlock the potential of their new app, SoFi needed an easy way to allow users to connect all their financial accounts. They also needed a way to access user-permissioned data so that members can know where they stand, what their spending habits are, and how to hit their financial goals.
That’s when they turned to Plaid.
"If we were going to help our members get their money right, then we needed to help them get a bird’s-eye view of their balances. Connecting their accounts via Plaid is the first step to helping them see the full picture."
Principal Product Manager, SoFi
93%
of fintech users saw benefits from using fintech in 2022
36%
of users say overspending is their biggest money challenges
90%
of budgeting tool users prioritize ease of use
Building a financial picture
Gaining a full picture of members’ financial health can be difficult when they have accounts at multiple institutions. Plaid enables SoFi members to connect all their accounts on a single dashboard, consolidating financial data from multiple sources and categorizing transaction data with typically 24 months of history so that it’s easy to understand and use.
“With Plaid, it’s easy for our members to connect all their accounts—whether debts, investments, or credit cards—and put them in a single place to get a full understanding of their finances,” says Crossley. “Because Plaid’s data is so rich and deep, it allows us to better understand our members so that we can begin to personalize the member experience.”
When asked how Plaid’s data helps members better understand their everyday financial decisions, Crossley shares, “I look at Plaid the same way a smartwatch looks at someone's steps. It’s the simplest way to begin understanding their health”
Hitting financial goals
Once SoFi gives members a full view of their finances, the next step is to help them get the most out of their money.
“We use data from Plaid to give our customers real-time insights into what they’re spending, what their month-to-month cash-flow looks like, and where they might be able to cut down on costs or save. Without Plaid’s data, we wouldn’t be able to give members those personalized financial recommendations they’re looking for,” says Crossley.
For instance, Insights can help members see where they’re overspending or identify a cash account that could generate more income if switched to a high-yield savings account.
SoFi members who use Insights and connect their accounts with Plaid are also more engaged.
“If you take a look at the members who connected an external account through Plaid—their engagement, their retention, their propensity to explore other SoFi products—it’s all higher."
Principal Product Manager, SoFi
Looking ahead
Crossley wants to help SoFi’s members be more proactive with their finances. Whether it’s by saving money, refinancing, or paying down debt, the potential to help members shape their financial habits is limitless.
With the help of Plaid, SoFi is well positioned to expand recommendations and further their mission of helping people reach financial independence.