SimpleFIN links your US and Canadian bank accounts to Skwad without giving Skwad your bank login. You add your banks in SimpleFIN Bridge, then paste one setup token into Skwad, and it costs $1.50 a month or $15 a year on top of your Skwad plan. Linking is optional. Before you hand any service a bank login, read up on the risks of sharing your bank password, and if your bank sends email alerts, we’d start there. Below: which banks SimpleFIN covers, the four-step setup, and where Plaid fits.
Which banks does SimpleFIN support?
SimpleFIN reaches banks and investment accounts in the US and Canada through MX. International banks only count through their US or Canadian arms. There’s no published total, so look your bank up in the supported institutions search before you pay a cent.
A handful of Canadian banks hold a SimpleFIN connection better than a Plaid one. Our bank linking docs keep the list:
- CIBC
- Tangerine
- Simplii Financial
- MBNA
- Wealthsimple
- Scotiabank
- RBC (Royal Bank of Canada)
- PC Financial
- Vancity
Linking your bank to Skwad via SimpleFIN (MX)
SimpleFIN is our partner for optional bank linking. Your data isn’t tied to one app, so it goes where you go. You pick who reads it. One click cancels access.
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Get started
- Open SimpleFIN Bridge and sign in. There’s no password to remember. Type your email, open the link SimpleFIN sends, and you’re in (a passkey works too, once you’ve added one). First time? The same form signs you up.
You’ll land on a dashboard split into Financial Institutions, Apps, and Access Log.
- Financial Institutions: add each bank and investment account. If you haven’t paid SimpleFIN yet, it asks before your first connection goes through.
- Apps: this is the Skwad part. Copy the setup token and paste it into your Skwad connections settings.
- Done. Skwad refreshes your accounts and transactions on its own, throughout the day.
Each time a new IP address reads your data, SimpleFIN sends you an email, and the Access Log shows how often it happens. Skwad’s IPs should be registered to Amazon (AWS).
Revoking access takes one click, any time.
SimpleFIN vs Plaid
We support both. Plaid is bundled into LINK and handles most US banks by default. SimpleFIN you pay for separately, on DIY or LINK, and for the Canadian banks our docs list, such as CIBC, RBC and Scotiabank, it holds the connection better. Skwad vs Plaid compares both with syncing from bank alerts.
| SimpleFIN | Plaid | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $1.50 a month or $15 a year plus tax, paid to SimpleFIN | Included in Skwad LINK |
| Skwad plans | DIY and LINK | LINK |
| Who holds your bank login | MX, SimpleFIN’s provider | Plaid |
| History on the first sync | Up to 90 days (30 or 60 at some banks) | Usually 3 to 6 months |
| Countries | US and Canada | US and Canada |
Our rule of thumb: on DIY, or stuck with a bank that keeps kicking Plaid off, go SimpleFIN. On LINK, Plaid is already paid for and can backfill more history on the first sync. The Plaid guide walks through it.
Prefer not to link a bank?
Skipping linking altogether is fine. Skwad works as a budgeting app without Plaid or bank logins: it reads transactions straight out of the alert emails your bank already sends.
Frequently asked questions
Is bank linking required to use Skwad?
Nope. SimpleFIN linking is optional. If you’d rather keep your bank credentials to yourself, email alerts or a manual transaction import do the job instead.
How do I sign in to SimpleFIN?
With an email link or a passkey. SimpleFIN Bridge has no passwords, so you type your email on the sign-in page and open the link it sends. Once you’ve added a passkey, you can skip the email. New accounts start from the same form.
How much does SimpleFIN cost?
$1.50 a month, or $15 a year, plus tax. That covers up to 25 institutions and 25 apps. The bill comes from SimpleFIN, not us, so it sits outside your Skwad plan.
How do I revoke a connected bank from Skwad?
One click in the SimpleFIN Bridge dashboard cuts access, whenever you want. SimpleFIN also emails you each time a new IP address reads your data, so anything odd stands out.
Who is SimpleFIN and which banks does it support?
It’s the bank-linking service we use, and it runs on MX. Coverage is US and Canadian banks; punch your bank’s name into its supported institutions search to check. Setup means adding banks in the SimpleFIN Bridge dashboard, then pasting a setup token into Skwad.
