Create Sandbox test data
Use Sandbox accounts to create rich test data for Plaid products
Prefer to learn by watching? Check out this quick video guide to Custom Sandbox Users
Customize Sandbox account data
In addition to a set of pre-populated Sandbox test users, the Sandbox environment also provides the ability to create custom user accounts, which can be used in conjunction with /sandbox/public_token/create or Plaid Link to generate custom Sandbox data, or in conjunction with Plaid Link to test Link flows in the Sandbox.
Using these accounts, you can create your own testing data for the Assets, Auth, Balance, Identity, Investments, Liabilities, and Transactions products. You can also simulate an account with regular income or one that makes regular loan payments. For Link testing, custom accounts support multi-factor authentication, reCAPTCHA, and Link error flows.
To customize testing data for Document Income, see Testing Document Income.
Configuring the custom user account
Custom user accounts can be configured and accessed in two ways. The easiest (and recommended) method is by using the Sandbox Users tool, located in the Plaid Dashboard under Developers -> Sandbox. Set the username and configuration object in the Dashboard, then go through the Link flow on Sandbox with that username and any non-empty password. You can also use /sandbox/public_token/create with options.override_username and options.override_password to create a public token for a custom user account while bypassing Link. Alternatively, you can log into Sandbox with the username user_custom and provide the configuration object as the password.
To aid in testing, Plaid maintains a GitHub repo of pre-created custom user accounts that some users have found helpful.
Limitations of the custom user account
Very large configuration objects (larger than approximately 55kb, or approximately 250 transactions) are not supported and may cause the Link attempt to fail.
Using more than ten accounts on a single custom user is not supported and will cause the Link attempt to fail.
If you are using Consumer Report by Plaid Check, to use a custom user, you must click "add new account" in the Link flow rather than using one of the existing banks. Using an existing bank in the Plaid Passport flow will skip the ability to enter a custom username.
At OAuth institutions, custom users may not work properly: certain less frequently used customized fields may be overridden by the default values after the Link flow has completed, or the login may fail. If this occurs, retry the configuration using a non-OAuth institution, such as First Gingham Credit Union or First Platypus Bank.
Configuration object schema
Custom test accounts are configured with a JSON configuration object formulated according to the schema below. All top level fields are optional. Sending an empty object as a configuration will result in an account configured with random balances and transaction history.
Properties
string
The version of the password schema to use, possible values are 1 or 2. The default value is 2. You should only specify 1 if you know it is necessary for your test suite.
string
A seed, in the form of a string, that will be used to randomly generate account and transaction data, if this data is not specified using the
Note that transactions data is generated relative to the Item's creation date. Different Items created on different dates with the same seed for transactions data will have different dates for the transactions. The number of days between each transaction and the Item creation will remain constant. For example, an Item created on December 15 might show a transaction on December 14. An Item created on December 20, using the same seed, would show that same transaction occurring on December 19.
override_accounts argument. If no seed is specified, the randomly generated data will be different each time.Note that transactions data is generated relative to the Item's creation date. Different Items created on different dates with the same seed for transactions data will have different dates for the transactions. The number of days between each transaction and the Item creation will remain constant. For example, an Item created on December 15 might show a transaction on December 14. An Item created on December 20, using the same seed, would show that same transaction occurring on December 19.
[object]
An array of account overrides to configure the accounts for the Item. By default, if no override is specified, transactions and account data will be randomly generated based on the account type and subtype, and other products will have fixed or empty data.
string
investment: Investment account.credit: Credit carddepository: Depository accountloan: Loan accountpayroll: Payroll accountother: Non-specified account typeSee the Account type schema for a full listing of account types and corresponding subtypes.
Possible values:
investment, credit, depository, loan, payroll, otherstring
See the Account type schema for a full listing of account types and corresponding subtypes.
Possible values:
401a, 401k, 403B, 457b, 529, auto, brokerage, business, cash isa, cash management, cd, checking, commercial, construction, consumer, credit card, crypto exchange, ebt, education savings account, fixed annuity, gic, health reimbursement arrangement, home equity, hsa, isa, ira, keogh, lif, life insurance, line of credit, lira, loan, lrif, lrsp, money market, mortgage, mutual fund, non-custodial wallet, non-taxable brokerage account, other, other insurance, other annuity, overdraft, paypal, payroll, pension, prepaid, prif, profit sharing plan, rdsp, resp, retirement, rlif, roth, roth 401k, rrif, rrsp, sarsep, savings, sep ira, simple ira, sipp, stock plan, student, thrift savings plan, tfsa, trust, ugma, utma, variable annuitynumber
If provided, the account will start with this amount as the current balance.
Format:
double number
If provided, the account will always have this amount as its available balance, regardless of current balance or changes in transactions over time.
Format:
double string
ISO-4217 currency code. If provided, the account will be denominated in the given currency. Transactions will also be in this currency by default.
object
Allows specifying the metadata of the test account
string
The account's name
string
The account's official name
number
The account's limit
Format:
double string
The account's mask. Should be an empty string or a string of 2-4 alphanumeric characters. This allows you to model a mask which does not match the account number (such as with a virtual account number).
Pattern:
^$|^[A-Za-z0-9]{2,4}$ object
Account and bank identifier number data used to configure the test account. All values are optional.
string
Will be used for the account number.
string
Must be a valid ACH routing number. To test
/transfer/capabilities/get, set this to 322271627 to force a true result.string
Must be a valid wire transfer routing number.
string
EFT institution number. Must be specified alongside
eft_branch.string
EFT branch number. Must be specified alongside
eft_institution.string
Bank identifier code (BIC). Must be specified alongside
international_iban.string
International bank account number (IBAN). If no account number is specified via
account, will also be used as the account number by default. Must be specified alongside international_bic.string
BACS sort code
[object]
Specify the list of transactions on the account.
string
The date of the transaction, in ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) format. Transactions in Sandbox will move from pending to posted once their transaction date has been reached. If a
date_transacted is not provided by the institution, a transaction date may be available in the authorized_date field.Format:
date string
The date the transaction posted, in ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) format. Posted dates in the past or present will result in posted transactions; posted dates in the future will result in pending transactions.
Format:
date number
The transaction amount. Can be negative.
Format:
double string
The transaction description.
string
The ISO-4217 format currency code for the transaction.
object
Specify the holdings on the account.
number
The last price given by the institution for this security
Format:
double string
number
The total cost basis of the holding (e.g., the total amount spent to acquire all assets currently in the holding).
Format:
double number
The total quantity of the asset held, as reported by the financial institution.
Format:
double string
Either a valid
iso_currency_code or unofficial_currency_codeobject
Specify the security associated with the holding or investment transaction. When inputting custom security data to the Sandbox, Plaid will perform post-data-retrieval normalization and enrichment. These processes may cause the data returned by the Sandbox to be slightly different from the data you input. An ISO-4217 currency code and a security identifier (
ticker_symbol, cusip, or isin) are required.string
12-character ISIN, a globally unique securities identifier. A verified CUSIP Global Services license is required to receive this data. This field will be null by default for new customers, and null for existing customers starting March 12, 2024. If you would like access to this field, please request ISIN/CUSIP access here.
string
9-character CUSIP, an identifier assigned to North American securities. A verified CUSIP Global Services license is required to receive this data. This field will be null by default for new customers, and null for existing customers starting March 12, 2024. If you would like access to this field, please request ISIN/CUSIP access here.
string
A descriptive name for the security, suitable for display.
string
The security’s trading symbol for publicly traded securities, and otherwise a short identifier if available.
string
Either a valid
iso_currency_code or unofficial_currency_codeobject
Specify the list of investments transactions on the account.
string
string
The institution's description of the transaction.
number
The number of units of the security involved in this transaction. Must be positive if the type is a buy and negative if the type is a sell.
Format:
double number
The price of the security at which this transaction occurred.
Format:
double number
The combined value of all fees applied to this transaction.
Format:
double string
The type of the investment transaction. Possible values are:
buy: Buying an investment
sell: Selling an investment
cash: Activity that modifies a cash position
fee: A fee on the account
transfer: Activity that modifies a position, but not through buy/sell activity e.g. options exercise, portfolio transferstring
Either a valid
iso_currency_code or unofficial_currency_codeobject
Specify the security associated with the holding or investment transaction. When inputting custom security data to the Sandbox, Plaid will perform post-data-retrieval normalization and enrichment. These processes may cause the data returned by the Sandbox to be slightly different from the data you input. An ISO-4217 currency code and a security identifier (
ticker_symbol, cusip, or isin) are required.string
12-character ISIN, a globally unique securities identifier. A verified CUSIP Global Services license is required to receive this data. This field will be null by default for new customers, and null for existing customers starting March 12, 2024. If you would like access to this field, please request ISIN/CUSIP access here.
string
9-character CUSIP, an identifier assigned to North American securities. A verified CUSIP Global Services license is required to receive this data. This field will be null by default for new customers, and null for existing customers starting March 12, 2024. If you would like access to this field, please request ISIN/CUSIP access here.
string
A descriptive name for the security, suitable for display.
string
The security’s trading symbol for publicly traded securities, and otherwise a short identifier if available.
string
Either a valid
iso_currency_code or unofficial_currency_codeobject
Data about the owner or owners of an account. Any fields not specified will be filled in with default Sandbox information.
[string]
A list of names associated with the account by the financial institution. These should always be the names of individuals, even for business accounts. Note that the same name data will be used for all accounts associated with an Item.
[object]
A list of phone numbers associated with the account.
string
The phone number.
boolean
When
true, identifies the phone number as the primary number on an account.string
The type of phone number.
Possible values:
home, work, office, mobile, mobile1, other[object]
A list of email addresses associated with the account.
string
The email address.
boolean
When
true, identifies the email address as the primary email on an account.string
The type of email account as described by the financial institution.
Possible values:
primary, secondary, other[object]
Data about the various addresses associated with the account.
object
Data about the components comprising an address.
string
The full city name
string
The region or state. In API versions 2018-05-22 and earlier, this field is called
state.
Example: "NC"string
The full street address
Example:
"564 Main Street, APT 15"string
The postal code. In API versions 2018-05-22 and earlier, this field is called
zip.string
The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
boolean
When
true, identifies the address as the primary address on an account.object
Used to configure Sandbox test data for the Liabilities product
string
The type of the liability object, either
credit or student. Mortgages are not currently supported in the custom Sandbox.number
The purchase APR percentage value. For simplicity, this is the only interest rate used to calculate interest charges. Can only be set if
type is credit.Format:
double number
The cash APR percentage value. Can only be set if
type is credit.Format:
double number
The balance transfer APR percentage value. Can only be set if
type is credit.Format:
double number
The special APR percentage value. Can only be set if
type is credit.Format:
double number
Override the
last_payment_amount field. Can only be set if type is credit.Format:
double number
Override the
minimum_payment_amount field. Can only be set if type is credit or student.Format:
double boolean
Override the
is_overdue fieldstring
The date on which the loan was initially lent, in ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) format. Can only be set if
type is student.Format:
date number
The original loan principal. Can only be set if
type is student.Format:
double number
The interest rate on the loan as a percentage. Can only be set if
type is student.Format:
double number
If set, interest capitalization begins at the given number of months after loan origination. By default interest is never capitalized. Can only be set if
type is student.object
Student loan repayment information used to configure Sandbox test data for the Liabilities product
string
The only currently supported value for this field is
standard.number
Configures the number of months before repayment starts.
number
Configures the number of months of repayments before the loan is paid off.
string
Override the
expected_payoff_date field. Can only be set if type is student.Format:
date string
Override the
guarantor field. Can only be set if type is student.boolean
Override the
is_federal field. Can only be set if type is student.string
Override the
loan_name field. Can only be set if type is student.object
An object representing the status of the student loan
string
The date until which the loan will be in its current status. Dates are returned in an ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD).
Format:
date string
The status type of the student loan
Possible values:
cancelled, charged off, claim, consolidated, deferment, delinquent, discharged, extension, forbearance, in grace, in military, in school, not fully disbursed, other, paid in full, refunded, repayment, transferred, pending idrstring
Override the
payment_reference_number field. Can only be set if type is student.string
Override the
repayment_plan.description field. Can only be set if type is student.string
Override the
repayment_plan.type field. Can only be set if type is student. Possible values are: "extended graduated", "extended standard", "graduated", "income-contingent repayment", "income-based repayment", "income-sensitive repayment", "interest only", "other", "pay as you earn", "revised pay as you earn", "standard", or "saving on a valuable education".string
Override the
sequence_number field. Can only be set if type is student.object
A physical mailing address.
object
Data about the components comprising an address.
string
The full city name
string
The region or state. In API versions 2018-05-22 and earlier, this field is called
state.
Example: "NC"string
The full street address
Example:
"564 Main Street, APT 15"string
The postal code. In API versions 2018-05-22 and earlier, this field is called
zip.string
The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
boolean
When
true, identifies the address as the primary address on an account.object
The
inflow_model allows you to model a test account that receives regular income or make regular payments on a loan. Any transactions generated by the inflow_model will appear in addition to randomly generated test data or transactions specified by override_accounts.string
Inflow model. One of the following:
Note that account types supported by Liabilities will accrue interest in the Sandbox. The types impacted are account type
none: No incomemonthly-income: Income occurs once per month monthly-balance-payment: Pays off the balance on a liability account at the given statement day of month.monthly-interest-only-payment: Makes an interest-only payment on a liability account at the given statement day of month.Note that account types supported by Liabilities will accrue interest in the Sandbox. The types impacted are account type
credit with subtype credit or paypal, and account type loan with subtype student or mortgage.number
Amount of income per month. This value is required if
type is monthly-income.Format:
double number
Number between 1 and 28, or
last meaning the last day of the month. The day of the month on which the income transaction will appear. The name of the income transaction. This field is required if type is monthly-income, monthly-balance-payment or monthly-interest-only-payment.string
The name of the income transaction. This field is required if
type is monthly-income, monthly-balance-payment or monthly-interest-only-payment.string
Number between 1 and 28, or
last meaning the last day of the month. The day of the month on which the balance is calculated for the next payment. The name of the income transaction. This field is required if type is monthly-balance-payment or monthly-interest-only-payment.object
Specify payroll data on the account.
[object]
A list of paystubs associated with the account.
object
The employer on the paystub.
string
The name of the employer.
object
The address of the employer.
string
The full city name.
string
The region or state
Example:
"NC"string
The full street address
Example:
"564 Main Street, APT 15"string
5 digit postal code.
string
The country of the address.
object
The employee on the paystub.
string
The name of the employee.
object
The address of the employee.
string
The full city name.
string
The region or state
Example:
"NC"string
The full street address
Example:
"564 Main Street, APT 15"string
5 digit postal code.
string
The country of the address.
string
Marital status of the employee - either
single or married.Possible values:
single, marriedobject
Taxpayer ID of the individual receiving the paystub.
string
Type of ID, e.g. 'SSN'
string
ID mask; i.e. last 4 digits of the taxpayer ID
object
An object representing information about the net pay amount on the paystub.
string
Description of the net pay
string
The ISO-4217 currency code of the net pay.
number
The year-to-date amount of the net pay
Format:
double object
An object with the deduction information found on a paystub.
[object]
number
Raw amount of the deduction
Format:
double string
Description of the deduction line item
string
The ISO-4217 currency code of the line item.
number
The year-to-date amount of the deduction
Format:
double object
An object representing the total deductions for the pay period
number
Raw amount of the deduction
Format:
double string
The ISO-4217 currency code of the line item.
number
The year-to-date total amount of the deductions
Format:
double object
An object representing both a breakdown of earnings on a paystub and the total earnings.
[object]
string
Commonly used term to describe the earning line item.
Possible values:
BONUS, COMMISSION, OVERTIME, PAID TIME OFF, REGULAR PAY, VACATION, BASIC ALLOWANCE HOUSING, BASIC ALLOWANCE SUBSISTENCE, OTHER, nullnumber
Raw amount of the earning line item.
Format:
double string
Description of the earning line item.
number
Number of hours applicable for this earning.
string
The ISO-4217 currency code of the line item.
number
Hourly rate applicable for this earning.
Format:
double number
The year-to-date amount of the deduction.
Format:
double object
An object representing both the current pay period and year to date amount for an earning category.
number
Total number of hours worked for this pay period
string
The ISO-4217 currency code of the line item
number
The year-to-date amount for the total earnings
Format:
double object
Details about the pay period.
number
The amount of the paycheck.
Format:
double [object]
string
Name of the account for the given distribution.
string
The name of the bank that the payment is being deposited to.
number
The amount distributed to this account.
Format:
double string
The ISO-4217 currency code of the net pay. Always
null if unofficial_currency_code is non-null.string
The last 2-4 alphanumeric characters of an account's official account number.
string
Type of the account that the paystub was sent to (e.g. 'checking').
string
number
Total earnings before tax/deductions.
Format:
double string
string
The frequency at which an individual is paid.
Possible values:
PAY_FREQUENCY_UNKNOWN, PAY_FREQUENCY_WEEKLY, PAY_FREQUENCY_BIWEEKLY, PAY_FREQUENCY_SEMIMONTHLY, PAY_FREQUENCY_MONTHLY, nulldeprecatedstring
string
[object]
A list of w2s associated with the account.
object
The employer on the paystub.
string
The name of the employer.
object
The address of the employer.
string
The full city name.
string
The region or state
Example:
"NC"string
The full street address
Example:
"564 Main Street, APT 15"string
5 digit postal code.
string
The country of the address.
object
The employee on the paystub.
string
The name of the employee.
object
The address of the employee.
string
The full city name.
string
The region or state
Example:
"NC"string
The full street address
Example:
"564 Main Street, APT 15"string
5 digit postal code.
string
The country of the address.
string
Marital status of the employee - either
single or married.Possible values:
single, marriedobject
Taxpayer ID of the individual receiving the paystub.
string
Type of ID, e.g. 'SSN'
string
ID mask; i.e. last 4 digits of the taxpayer ID
string
The tax year of the W2 document.
string
An employer identification number or EIN.
string
Wages from tips and other compensation.
string
Federal income tax withheld for the tax year.
string
Wages from social security.
string
Social security tax withheld for the tax year.
string
Wages and tips from medicare.
string
Medicare tax withheld for the tax year.
string
Tips from social security.
string
Allocated tips.
string
Contents from box 9 on the W2.
string
Dependent care benefits.
string
Nonqualified plans.
[object]
string
W2 Box 12 code.
string
W2 Box 12 amount.
string
Statutory employee.
string
Retirement plan.
string
Third party sick pay.
string
Other.
[object]
string
State associated with the wage.
string
State identification number of the employer.
string
Wages and tips from the specified state.
string
Income tax from the specified state.
string
Wages and tips from the locality.
string
Income tax from the locality.
string
Name of the locality.
object
Specifies the multi-factor authentication settings to use with this test account
string
Possible values are
If value is
If value is
If value is
device, selections, or questions.If value is
device, the MFA answer is 1234.If value is
selections, the MFA answer is always the first option.If value is
questions, the MFA answer is answer_<i>_<j> for the j-th question in the i-th round, starting from 0. For example, the answer to the first question in the second round is answer_1_0.number
Number of rounds of questions. Required if value of
type is questions.number
Number of questions per round. Required if value of
type is questions. If value of type is selections, default value is 2.number
Number of rounds of selections, used if
type is selections. Defaults to 1.number
Number of available answers per question, used if
type is selection. Defaults to 2.string
You may trigger a reCAPTCHA in Plaid Link in the Sandbox environment by using the recaptcha field. Possible values are
good or bad. A value of good will result in successful Item creation and bad will result in a RECAPTCHA_BAD error to simulate a failed reCAPTCHA. Both values require the reCAPTCHA to be manually solved within Plaid Link.string
An error code to force on Item creation. Possible values are:
"INSTITUTION_NOT_RESPONDING"
"INSTITUTION_NO_LONGER_SUPPORTED"
"INVALID_CREDENTIALS"
"INVALID_MFA"
"ITEM_LOCKED"
"ITEM_LOGIN_REQUIRED"
"ITEM_NOT_SUPPORTED"
"INVALID_LINK_TOKEN"
"MFA_NOT_SUPPORTED"
"NO_ACCOUNTS"
"PLAID_ERROR"
"USER_INPUT_TIMEOUT"
"USER_SETUP_REQUIRED"{
"seed": "my-seed-string-3",
"override_accounts": [
{
"type": "depository",
"subtype": "checking",
"identity": {
"names": [
"John Doe"
],
"phone_numbers": [
{
"primary": true,
"type": "home",
"data": "4673956022"
}
],
"emails": [
{
"primary": true,
"type": "primary",
"data": "accountholder0@example.com"
}
],
"addresses": [
{
"primary": true,
"data": {
"city": "Malakoff",
"region": "NY",
"street": "2992 Cameron Road",
"postal_code": "14236",
"country": "US"
}
}
]
},
"transactions": [
{
"date_transacted": "2023-10-01",
"date_posted": "2023-10-03",
"currency": "USD",
"amount": 100,
"description": "1 year Netflix subscription"
},
{
"date_transacted": "2023-10-01",
"date_posted": "2023-10-02",
"currency": "USD",
"amount": 100,
"description": "1 year mobile subscription"
}
]
},
{
"type": "loan",
"subtype": "student",
"liability": {
"type": "student",
"origination_date": "2023-01-01",
"principal": 10000,
"nominal_apr": 6.25,
"loan_name": "Plaid Student Loan",
"repayment_model": {
"type": "standard",
"non_repayment_months": 12,
"repayment_months": 120
}
}
},
{
"type": "credit",
"subtype": "credit card",
"starting_balance": 10000,
"inflow_model": {
"type": "monthly-interest-only-payment",
"payment_day_of_month": 15,
"statement_day_of_month": 13,
"transaction_name": "Interest Payment"
},
"liability": {
"type": "credit",
"purchase_apr": 12.9,
"balance_transfer_apr": 15.24,
"cash_apr": 28.45,
"special_apr": 0,
"last_payment_amount": 500,
"minimum_payment_amount": 10
}
},
{
"type": "investment",
"subtype": "brokerage",
"investment_transactions": [
{
"date": "2023-07-01",
"name": "buy stock",
"quantity": 10,
"price": 10,
"fees": 20,
"type": "buy",
"currency": "USD",
"security": {
"ticker_symbol": "PLAID",
"currency": "USD"
}
}
],
"holdings": [
{
"institution_price": 10,
"institution_price_as_of": "2023-08-01",
"cost_basis": 10,
"quantity": 10,
"currency": "USD",
"security": {
"ticker_symbol": "PLAID",
"currency": "USD"
}
}
]
},
{
"type": "payroll",
"subtype": "payroll",
"income": {
"paystubs": [
{
"employer": {
"name": "Heartland Toy Company"
},
"employee": {
"name": "Chip Hazard",
"address": {
"city": "Burbank",
"region": "CA",
"street": "411 N Hollywood Way",
"postal_code": "91505",
"country": "US"
}
},
"income_breakdown": [
{
"type": "regular",
"rate": 20,
"hours": 40,
"total": 800
},
{
"type": "overtime",
"rate": 30,
"hours": 6.68,
"total": 200.39
}
],
"pay_period_details": {
"start_date": "2021-05-04",
"end_date": "2021-05-18",
"gross_earnings": 1000.39,
"check_amount": 499.28
}
}
]
}
}
]
}