Lenders can use cash flow insights from Plaid Check in prequalification to assess income, cash flow trends, and other financial signals derived from consumer-permissioned data. With Instant Link, lenders can bring these insights earlier in the funnel, when a consumer first expresses interest in credit. Eligible consumers who previously connected their accounts through Plaid and agreed to future sharing can share cash flow insights without logging in to their bank again.

Instant Link is a new connectivity experience that lets eligible returning consumers share their cash flow insights for credit applications without having to reconnect their accounts. Consumers who previously connected through Plaid can consent to lenders accessing their data through Plaid’s Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). When they return, lenders provide basic consumer information, like name, address, or phone number, which Plaid CRA uses to match the consumer to their network profile and return permissioned credit insights in under two seconds.

Users who aren’t already in the Plaid Network can securely connect their financial accounts through Plaid Link by selecting their financial institution and signing in. Once connected, lenders can access consumer-permissioned financial data and insights to evaluate the borrower.

Instant Link gives lenders access to consumer-permissioned cash flow insights for lending or other eligibility use cases, including income, payroll patterns, inflow and outflow trends and credit risk signals like LendScore.

Consumers choose when to share their financial data with a lender through Plaid. Plaid’s Consumer Reporting Agency provides consumer reporting services for lending use cases and gives consumers access to resources for managing their data and exercising their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.