Using Email Scans

This is the primary method for most Skwad members. It involves auto-forwarding your email alerts to your Scan Email Address. You can find your scan address in your app settings.

Email Scans vs. Bank Linking

	Email Scans	Bank Linking
Method	Push	Pull
Authentication	None required	Password / 2FA ❌ or Oauth ✅
Data Providers	None	Plaid, MX, Finicity, e.t.c
Middlemen	None	Syncing via third parties
Transactions Syncing	Instant	Often delayed
Balance Tracking	Daily	Sometimes delayed

Alert Types

First, login to your bank and review what alert options are available. Skwad accepts and "understands" the following types of alerts:

Transaction

• Transaction above a certain level (say $0.01)
• International charge
• Online, phone, or mail charge
• Gas station charge
• Credit or refund
• Deposit
• ATM or cash withdrawal

Payment or Statement

• Payment due soon
• Payment scheduled
• Statements

Balances

• Balance above a certain level (say $0.01)
• Balance below a certain level (say $20m)

Sending Alerts

You have two options when sending your alerts to Skwad. Your bank can send them directly or you can opt for the double-hop method.

Option 1: Direct Method

Your bank may permit multiple email addresses. A login email (your primary personal email address), and an additional emails for alerts (your skwad scan email).

• See examples

warning

Don't replace your primary email address with your Skwad scan email. Opt for the Double Hop option if your bank only allows a single email address.

Option 2: Double Hop

1. Send all your alerts to your primary email address
2. Setup forwarding rules from your primary email to your Skwad scan email. We have guides for forwarding alerts from:

• Gmail
• Proton Mail
• iCloud
• Others - the process is similar for other email providers

3. Make sure you're not forwarding all your emails to Skwad. Filter out non-alerts by adding specific Senders or Subject Lines

Auditing Alerts

Once this is done, you'll notice transactions and balances showing up automatically in your account. Remember also to turn on alerts for deposits and refunds.

Missing Transactions or Balances

If you're missing transactions, turn on more alerts. Some banks, for example, send out Gas station transactions separately from other transaction alerts.

For balances, play around with the thresholds. Many banks will send those alerts daily.

Duplicate Transactions

If you see multiple alerts for the same transaction, you may have turned on duplicate alerts. For example, some banks will trigger both the ATM and Transaction alert for cash withdrawals. Turn off the duplicate alert.

Also make sure you're not using both options simultaneously for the same institution. Skwad will process all unique alerts. For example:

1. Your bank sends an alert to Skwad, and another to your email.
2. Your email then forwards the same alert to Skwad again.
3. Skwad will process both individually because they are unique emails (different Senders & headers).

Batch Alerts

99% of alerts processed by Skwad contain a single transaction or a single balance. Something like:

Your card ending in 0101 was charged $10 at Starbucks

But sometimes, banks include more than one transaction in the alert. Those look like:

Your card ending in 0101 had 2 transactions:
$10 Starbucks
$20 McDonalds

If your alerts look like this, don't worry. Contact our support team to update the alert parser for your account.

Also contact support if you have a mix of both types of alerts. We'll sort things out for you!

FAQ

How does Skwad assign transactions to accounts?

Skwad will use the last 4 in the alert to assign the transaction to the correct account when using email alerts. An account will be automatically created when you receive your first alert, but you can also create it manually with the correct last 4.

Why are my transactions getting dropped?

1. Email attachments / images

Check your alerts for images. Skwad processes images differently and will often ignore alerts with images. We'll need to ignore all attachments coming in automatically, please contact support to enable this setting for your account.

Starting 2025: Skwad no longer supports file uploads via email. Use the in-app upload section instead.

2. Subscription

Skwad will automatically drop all transactions if your account is past due or missing a valid credit card.