Bank Direct Connect - Bank Settings

Overview 

Bank Settings provide quick and easy access for linking and mapping all your Financial Institutions directly to Accounting Seed, as well as manage your source record add and match settings. As part of the Bank Settings, you can clearly view each Financial Institution Account (FIA) that is associated with a Financial Institution, as well as map the applicable Bank GL Account to each FIA. 

Each Financial Institution can have one or more associated Account Names. For example, a company might bank with XYZ Bank & Trust, which includes a checking account, a credit card account, and a savings account. Using this example, the Financial Institution, XYZ Bank & Trust would display on three different rows within the Bank Settings tab, one for each of the different Account Names.

Click a link below to learn more about:

• Select Provider and Connect Financial Institutions
• Map Financial Accounts to Bank GL Accounts
• Migrate a Financial Institution Account(s) from Yodlee to Plaid
• New, Refresh Connection, Refresh Credentials and Delete Buttons
• Add Settings and Match Settings
• Pre-populated Account Information
• Manage Providers
• Set up Bank Direct Connect (Bank Settings)
• Bank Direct Connect with Plaid - Supported Countries
• Update Existing Bank Accounts to Open Banking API

Select Provider and Connect Financial Institutions

Manage Providers

Important: If you have not registered with an Aggregation Provider, a message displays. You will need to click “Manage Providers.”

For existing Accounting Seed users, if Yodlee is your registered Provider, it will automatically display as registered when you click “Manage Providers.” After clicking “Manage Providers,” the Manage Aggregation Providers dialog box displays. From this dialog box, existing and new Accounting Seed users can select to register or deregister with a Provider (Plaid or Yodlee). You can swipe right to register a Provider (enable the Swipe button). A confirmation message will display, which you can then click Yes to confirm and register the selected Provider(s).

Note: If you deregister a Provider, any previously connected Financial Institutions/Financial Institution Accounts will be disconnected. Additionally, any existing GL Account Mappings will be deactivated and no longer show on the Bank Settings page.

Follow the step instructions below in this article to Set up Bank Direct Connect (Bank Settings) for a Manage Aggregation Provider (Plaid and/or Yodlee).

After successfully registering with one or both Aggregation Providers, the Bank Settings screen refreshes. From here, you can Map Financial Institution Accounts to Bank GL Accounts.

Map Financial Institution Accounts to Bank GL Accounts

The “Single FIA per Bank Account” checkbox automatically defaults to selected/checked. When this setting is checked, you cannot map more than one Financial Institution Account (FIA) to a given Bank GL Account. If you have already mapped more than one FIA to a given Bank GL Account, the existing setups will not be impacted by this setting unless you modify the existing setup or try to map another FIA to the same Bank GL Account. This setting will only impact your setups when it is checked, and when an attempt is made to map more than one FIA to a given Bank GL Account. However, if you want to map more than one FIA to a given Bank GL Account, simply de-select this checkbox.

Note: The main purpose for this setting is to avoid accidentally mapping the same FIA to a given Bank GL Account.

Note: If you have both Plaid and Yodlee registered as Aggregation Providers, the Map Financial Institution Accounts to Bank GL Accounts section will display mapping information for all mapped accounts (both Plaid and Yodlee).

The column headings in the table below will need to be mapped for each Financial Institution and Account Name:

Column Heading Name	Description
Provider	The Aggregation Provider: Plaid or Yodlee.
Financial Institution	The selected Financial Institution.
Account Name	The name of the account for the selected Financial Institution, such as the name for the checking account that is associated with this Financial Institution.
Ledger	If the organization has only one Ledger, it automatically displays. You can search for and select a Ledger from the drop-down list, if necessary. Note: If an incorrect Ledger is accidentally selected, click the X to remove the selected Ledger. Then, select the correct one from the drop-down list. Map a Financial Institution Account (FIA) with a Foreign Currency Bank Settings allows you to map a Financial Institution Account (FIA) with a foreign currency to a Ledger that has a different currency. For example, the currency for the FIA might be CAD and the Ledger’s currency is USD. Using this example, the USD Ledger can be selected from the Ledger drop-down list for mapping the FIA with CAD currency.  The ability to map to a different Ledger allows for foreign Bank Transactions to be downloaded from an Aggregation Provider. Foreign Bank Transactions consist of transactions that are in a different currency than the Ledger currency. Source records created from foreign Bank Transactions or matched to them will be in the same currency as the foreign Bank Transactions. The GL transactions created from the source records will be converted into the currency of the Ledger.
Bank GL Account	The Bank GL Account field can be modified for Financial Institutions that are linked from an Aggregation Provider or for transactions from an import file. Best Practice: Credit cards should be mapped to a credit card liability account that has the Bank checkbox selected and cash amounts should be mapped to a cash account that has the Bank checkbox selected.
Initial Start Date	Defines the date from which transactions are initially downloaded. Provides you with the ability to control the amount of initial data that will be downloaded. Note: The initial Start Date will only download the Bank Transactions that are available from an Aggregation Provider.
Last Refreshed Date	Represents when an Aggregation Provider last updated their database with information from their connected banks. Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen.
FIA Status	Each FIA will display its connection status in the FIA Status column, as shown in the sample screen above. A successful connection message displays in green, which indicates that you can continue normal processing. To download transactions, click the Bank Transactions tab and select Update All. If an FIA Status message displays in red for one of your Financial Institutions, refer to the Bank Direct Connect - Connection Messages article for more information.

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Migrate a Financial Institution Account(s) from Yodlee to Plaid

When considering migrating from Yodlee to Plaid, keep the following important points in mind:

• You should NOT map the same bank account to both Yodlee and Plaid. Doing so will cause your bank transactions to be downloaded twice. 
• If you are migrating from Yodlee to Plaid, review the Last Refresh Date. Then, set the Initial Start Date for Plaid to the following day.
• Once you are connected to Plaid and have imported transactions from Plaid, review the transactions to ensure there are no duplicates. In some instances, you might need to create a tab for the Bank Transaction object, if you do not already have one. That way, you can easily review and note any duplicates and delete them. 
  
  Note: If you need to create a tab for the Bank Transactions object, refer to the Create a Custom Tab article. 
  

New, Refresh Connection, Refresh Credentials, and Delete Buttons

The following button options are available in the Select Provider and Connect Financial Institutions section of the Bank Settings tab:

Note: When you initially access the Bank Settings tab, if you have not connected to any Financial Institutions, the Select Financial Institution drop-down list will not display. Additionally, only the “New” button will be enabled so that you can select a Financial Institution(s) and connect to it. In the screen captures below, a Financial Institution has already been selected and connected to.

Plaid

Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 

Yodlee

Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 

• New - allows you to create a new link to a bank. You will need to input all of your credentials, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), if required. Once this is completed, the Bank Accounts will need to be mapped, as mentioned above. 
• Refresh Connection - allows Yodlee to pull transactions from your Financial Institution since the last time the transactions were pulled. For example, if Yodlee pulls transactions at midnight, they can be pulled again in the afternoon of the next day if new transactions occurred. This option will also ask you to enter/update your MFA if expired prior to pulling the new transactions.
  Note: If using Plaid as your Aggregation Provider, the Refresh Connection button displays grayed out. This button is not applicable or necessary for Plaid.
• Refresh Credentials – allows you to refresh your bank credentials (re-enter your username and password).
• Delete - removes the bank and bank mappings from Bank Direct Connect. 

Note: If you delete a bank and re-add it, while the mapping will remain, the Bank Rules will need to be re-updated for the bank if it was selected as an individual bank on a rule.

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Add Settings and Match Settings

• Add Settings - identifies a source record that you create from a Bank Transaction record. For the Add Settings, there was not a matching record, and you want to create a new record from a Bank Transaction record. When you add a record, the default source record type will be based upon what is defined for this setting. For example, Cash Receipt automatically displays as the Cash-In Default Source Record Type. Therefore, if this remains as the default, whenever a new record is added for Cash-In, the source type will automatically display as Cash Receipt.
  
  
• Match Settings - indicates that there is an existing source record in Accounting Seed, which is a possible match to a Bank Transaction record. You can define a default match setting for Cash-In and Cash-Out transactions. Source records that can be matched include the following:
  • Cash Receipts
  • Refund Cash Receipts
  • Cash Disbursements
  • Journal Entry Lines
  • Bank Deposits

In addition to manually being able to add a record or match a record, you can select to have the system automatically add or match Bank Transactions based upon certain criteria.

The criteria for Global Automated Add includes the following for a Cash Receipt and a Cash Disbursement:

• Enable Global Automated Add must be checked in Bank Settings.
• Required fields, dependent on source record type, must be populated using Bank Rules.
• There must be no proposed matches.

If a Bank Transaction record meets the criteria for adding a record, it will automatically be added if the “Enable Global Automated Add” checkbox is selected.

Note: If the added source record is a Cash Receipt and the auto-post setting is enabled in Accounting Settings, the new record will automatically post. If the added source record is a Cash Disbursement or a Journal Entry, the posting status will display as Approved. Cash Disbursement and Journal Entry records will not automatically post regardless of the auto-post setting. 

For Global Automated Match to automatically match a Bank Transaction to a source record, the following criteria must be met:

• Enable Global Automated Match must be checked in Bank Settings.
• The amount of the source record must match exactly with the amount of the Bank Transaction downloaded.
• The date of the source record and the downloaded Bank Transaction must be within the set number of days with each other as defined on the Matching Settings.
• Most importantly, there is one (and only one) possible source record match.

Note: If the Enable Global Automated Add and/or the Enable Global Automated Match checkbox is selected, and records meet the criteria, the automatic processing of those records will occur after the Scheduled Bank Download job runs and Bank Transactions have been updated into Bank Direct Connect (BDC). You can view transactions that were automatically added or matched from the All Bank Transactions tab on the BDC screen.  

Sandbox Mode

if you would like to be able to test Plaid in sandbox mode, please submit a case and grant admin access for one week so that Accounting Seed Support can enable this for you.  We recommend setting this up in a sandbox and not in a production environment.

Pre-populated Account Information

When the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox is selected, information can automatically pre-populate from the Account record onto a Bank Transaction in the fields on the expanded drawer or directly onto the source record (if Enable Global Automated Add is selected).

Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 

Bank Rules and Pre-populated Account Data

If you have Bank Rules created that will automatically update Bank Transactions, the rules will be applied before the system attempts to compare the Description field to the Account record. Only if a Bank Rule pre-populates the GL Variables or the GL Account, but NOT the Account Name, will the Account record be looked at for a possible match. The pre-populating of data from the Account record will not override the information that was updated by a Bank Rule.

Account Matching

When the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox is selected, the system looks at the Description field on the Bank Transaction record and compares it with the Account Name field or the File Import Match Name field on the Account record. If a match is found on the Account record, that information will pre-populate on the Bank Transaction. The comparison process works as “contains” and not as “equal to.” For example, if the Description field on the Bank Transaction contains the Account Name or File Import Match Name of “Farmer,” this will be considered as a match. Therefore, the fields in the expanded drawer on the Bank Transaction will be updated to include the available information (Account Name, GL Account, GL Variables) from the Account record.

Note: If you have Person Accounts enabled, refer to the section below for Account matching information. 

In the sample screen below, the Description contained the Account Name of “Clearzone.” This was a match and information from the Account record was added in the expanded drawer on the Bank Transaction. 

Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 

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Account Matching when using Person Accounts

If you have Person Accounts enabled through Salesforce and selected/checked the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox, the Account Name is a compound field consisting of two fields: First Name and Last Name. Also, the Account Name field will only be used for a possible Account match if the File Import Match Name field is blank. 

When using Person Accounts, in order to have possible Account matches between the Description on a Bank Transaction and the Account Name field, the Description should be equal to or consist of a combination of the First Name and Last Name on the Account record. Additionally, it can only be in that order (First Name and Last Name). 

The table below provides some examples of Account matching information when Person Accounts are being used. 

File Import Match Name versus Account Name 

• If the File Import Match Name field is populated, the File Import Match Name will be used to match the Bank Transaction.
• If the File Import Match Name field is not populated on the Account record, but the Account Name field is populated, the Account Name will be used to match the Bank Transaction. 
• If both the Account Name and the File Import Match Name fields are populated, the File Import Match Name will be used to populate the Bank Transaction. 

Considerations before selecting the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox

Before selecting the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox, keep following the points in mind:

• Pre-populate Account Information is applicable for both uploading transactions from Yodlee and/or importing transactions from a Financial File Import 
• The Pre-populate Account Info checkbox only applies to Account records that have the Accounting Active checkbox selected and the Accounting Type must be set to Customer & Vendor or Vendor.
  Note: When the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox is selected, up to 40,000 Account records will be reviewed for possible Account matches each time you refresh Bank Transactions or upload new transactions. 
• Once this checkbox is selected, refreshing the Unmatched Bank Transactions tab will run the Bank Rules first on existing Bank Transactions and then, the system will search for Account record matches. Additionally, when the daily/nightly Scheduled Bank Download job runs, Download Now is clicked, or when the Update All button is clicked to update new Bank Transactions, the Bank Rules will run first and then, the system will search for Account record matches. 

The Pre-populate Account Info checkbox defaults to unchecked. Before you decide to select/check the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox, we recommend you do the following:

• Review the names in File Import Match Name field on Account records to make certain names are entered correctly
• Review your Bank Rules to determine the effect (if any) they will have on the pre-populate Account data.

Important: If you select/check the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox and also have the Enable Global Automated Add checkbox selected, note that Bank Rules will be applied first and then, pre-populate Account data matches will be automatically made to the source records. We recommend that the Enable Global Automated Add checkbox initially be deselected/unchecked to allow you to review and adjust the Bank Rules and Account matching. Once satisfied with the matching, the Enable Global Automated Add checkbox can be selected so that source records can automatically be created. 

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Manage Providers

If you have not registered with an Aggregation Provider, a message displays. You will need to click “Manage Providers.” Then, register one or both Providers. Additionally, you can also use the Manage Providers button to register or deregister a Provider.

Note: If you deregister a Provider, any previously connected Financial Institutions/Financial Institution Accounts will be disconnected. Additionally, any existing GL Account Mappings will be deactivated and no longer show on the Bank Settings page.

1. Navigate to Accounting Home and click the Create Entries tab. Then, under the Banking menu, click Bank Direct Connect.
2. Click the Bank Settings tab.
3. Click Manage Providers. The Manage Aggregation Providers dialog box displays.
   
   
   
   
4. In the sample screen above, Yodlee is already a registered Provider. We now want to register Plaid. Swipe right to enable the Plaid button.
   
   
   
   
5. Click Save. Then, click Yes to confirm that you want to register the Provider(s).
6. Continue with the Set up Bank Direct Connect (Bank Settings) section below.

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Set up Bank Direct Connect (Bank Settings)

Plaid (Select Provider and Connect Financial Institutions)

After selecting Plaid from the Select Aggregation Provider drop-down list, the screen below will display with the list of available countries.

Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 

Bank Direct Connect with Plaid - Supported Countries

Plaid is available to provide access to Financial Institutions for the following countries::

• Canada
• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• USA

Note: If nothing is selected from the list of available countries, the USA value will default as the country. Therefore, only USA banks will be available when you click New.

You can select one or more countries by holding the Ctrl key and clicking with your mouse. Then click the right arrow to move the selected country/countries to the right textbox.

From here, you can click New (as in step 3 below) to continue and select your Financial Institutions. Financial Institutions will display based upon the selected country/countries.

Note: If you are completing the BDC Bank Settings for Yodlee, skip to the Yodlee section below.

1. From the Select Aggregation Provider drop-down list, select Plaid.
2. If your Financial Institution(s) and Account Name(s) already display in the Map Financial Institution Accounts to Bank GL Accounts section of the Bank Settings tab, continue with the Map Financial Institutions section below. Otherwise, continue with the next step.
3. Click New.
   
   
   
   
4. Click Continue.
5. Search for and select a desired bank name.
   
   
   
   
6. Enter your Bank Credentials (Username and Password).
   
   
   
   
7. Click Submit.
   Important: If multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required, you will be prompted to enter the necessary information.
   
   
8. Click the checkbox to select the Account(s) that you want to include.
   
   
   
   
9. Click Continue. The Success message displays.
10. Click Continue The Success message in Accounting Seed displays and the Bank Settings page refreshes with Plaid as the selected Provider, along with the newly added bank as the selected Financial Institution.
11. Continue with the Map Financial Institutions section below.

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Yodlee (Select Provider and Connect Financial Institutions)

The steps below can be used to set up Bank Direct Connect (Bank Settings) for Yodlee.

1. From the Select Aggregation Provider drop-down list, select Yodlee.
2. Select a bank from the Select Financial Institution drop-down list.
3. If your Financial Institution(s) and Account Name(s) already display in the Map Financial Institution Accounts to Bank GL Accounts section of the Bank Settings tab, continue with the Map Financial Institutions section.
4. section below. Otherwise, continue with the next step.
5. Click New. 
6. Select a Financial Institution. Otherwise, search for a Financial Institution.
   
   
   
   
7. Enter your username and password to Verify Credentials. Then, click Submit.
   
   
   
   Important: If multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required, you will be prompted to enter the information. It might take time for the MFA prompt to display. Do not press Enter more than once.
   
8. Click View Accounts to view all of the Accounts that are linked to the Financial Institution such as, Cash, Credit Cards, etc.
9. (Optional) To delete a linked account, click the Gear icon.
   
   
   
   
10. Close the Linked Account window.
11. Repeat this process to select additional Financial Institutions, as necessary.

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Map Financial Institutions

When all your Financial Institutions have been selected, map the Financial Institution Accounts to the Bank GL Accounts:
Note: The mapping process only needs to be completed on the Financial Institution Accounts (FIAs) for which Bank Transactions will be downloaded.

1. Ledger - If the organization has only one Ledger, it automatically displays and cannot be changed. Otherwise, you can select a Ledger from the drop-down list.
   Note: If more than one Ledger is available for the organization, this field can be modified for Financial Institutions that are linked from our service provider or for transactions from an import file. 
   
   Note: Foreign Bank Transactions from an Aggregation Provider can be mapped to the Ledgers with the same or different currencies. Select the appropriate Ledger from the drop-down list.
   
   Note: If an incorrect Ledger is accidentally selected, click the X to remove the selected Ledger. Then, select the correct one from the drop-down list.
   
   
2. Bank GL Account - Enter the appropriate Bank GL Account.
   
   Note: If an incorrect Bank GL Account is accidentally selected, click the X to remove the selected number. Then, select the correct one from the drop-down list.
   
   
3. Initial Start Date  - Defines the last run date for the initial download.
   Important: Be aware that BDC will always start importing transactions 14 days prior to the last run date.
   
   Note: The initial Start Date will only download the Bank Transactions that are available from your Aggregation Provider(s).
   
   With Plaid, in order to download historical transactions, do the following:
   
   Note: Historical transactions that are greater than 30 days are not immediately available from Plaid and may take up to 24 hours before they can be imported. However, the new Download button mentioned below allows for downloading the historical transactions.
   
   
   • If already linked to the Financial Institution Account (FIA), you ca leave the Initial Start Date as it is and receive transactions back to that date, assuming those transactions are available in Plaid.
   • If not already linked, link to the FIA. When you link the FIA, the bank account will come through as a new account. Be careful to select the correct Initial Start Date. Then, on the Bank Direct Connect – Bank Transactions tab, select each Financial Institution Account and from Download Historical Transactions, click Download. This button will only display for Plaid linked Financial Institution Accounts.
     
     
     
     
   • With Yodlee, if you are an existing user and you want to include up to 365 days of Bank Transactions, each existing Financial Institution Account (FIA) will need to be deleted from the Yodlee Fastlink and then re-added. Additionally, you will need to map each Financial Institution Account (FIA) in the BDC - Bank Settings. Deleting the FIAs, re-adding and re-mapping will allow you to include up to 365 days of Bank Transactions.
     
     The Initial Start Date also provides you with the ability to control the amount of initial data that will be downloaded. Up to 365 days of Bank Transactions can be downloaded for both Plaid and/or Yodlee. 
     
     
4. Click Save.

Note: The Schedule the Bank Download job can now be set up.

1. Under the Add Settings section, click the Enable Global Automated Add checkbox if you want the system to automatically add bank transactions as new source records. The following criteria must be met to automatically be added as a new source record:
   
   
   Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 
   
   
   1. 1. Required fields, dependent on source record type, must be populated using Bank Rules.
      2. There must be no proposed matches.
         
         
2. The Cash-In Default Source Record Type displays as Cash Receipt and the Cash-Out Default Source Record Type displays as Cash Disbursement. If necessary, select Journal Entry as the Record Type from the drop-down list.
3. Under the Pre-populated Account Information, click the Pre-populate Account Info checkbox if you want the system to look at the Description field on a Bank Transaction record for comparison with the Account Name field or the File Import Match Name field on the Account record. If a match is found on the Account record, that information will pre-populate on the Bank Transaction. The comparison process works as “contains” and not as “equal to.”
   
   
   Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 
   
   Note: If you have Person Accounts enabled, refer to the Account Matching when using Person Accounts section above for Account matching information.
   
   
4. Under the Match Settings section, click the Enable Global Automated Match checkbox if you want the system to automatically match Bank Transactions to matched source records. Keep in mind that there must be one (and only one) match source record in order for the automatic match to occur.
   
   
   Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 
   
   
5. For the Cash-In Default Matching Setting, enter up to 30 days to define the range of days to use when considering possible matches to source records.
6. For the Cash-Out Default Matching Setting, enter up to 365 days to define the range of days to use when considering possible matches to source records.
7. Click Save.

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Yodlee's Open Banking API

Accounting Seed uses Yodlee’s Open Banking API (Application Programming Interface) for Bank Direct Connect for banks that have been Open Banking enabled. Open Banking is a more robust technology that supports how Yodlee (our third party vendor) connects to their bank sites using APIs. 

For banks that are Open Banking enabled, new bank accounts are automatically connected to them through the Open Banking API. 

Existing bank accounts that are Open Banking enabled, can be updated to use the Open Banking API by simply editing the Bank credentials (and MFA, if needed). 

Update an Existing Bank Account to the Open Banking API

1. From Bank Direct Connect on the Bank Settings tab, locate and select the Financial Institution to be updated.
2. Click Refresh Credentials.
   
   
   Note: Click here to view the above image in full screen. 
   
   
3. The Edit Credentials screen displays. Re-enter your credentials and click Update.
   Note: If you have MFA on your account, you will be prompted to enter the MFA information.
   
   
   
   
4. Your connected account displays. Click Close to return to the Bank Direct Connect Bank Settings tab.
   
   
   

Banks Supported by Yodlee Open Banking API

For your convenience, we have provided a chart below which outlines the banks currently supported by Yodlee’s Open Banking API. If you use one of these banking sites, you can now add or update your account through Accounting Seed and connect your accounts through the Open Banking API. If your bank is not listed, you can still connect new accounts through the existing Yodlee process, they will still be able to access Yodlee.

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Winter '24 Preview 2 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

The ability to download historical transactions is available for Plaid. 

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Summer '23 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

Plaid is available to provide access to Financial Institutions for the following countries::

• Canada
• Denmark
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• USA

___________________

Spring ’23 Release

Release Notes and Schedule

• Plaid is available as an Aggregation Provider.