Does Tiller Use Plaid?

Yes, Tiller Money uses Plaid to connect to banks and financial institutions. Plaid provides the secure bank connection infrastructure that allows Tiller to automatically sync transactions from 10,000+ banks to your Google Sheets or Excel spreadsheets.

How Tiller's Plaid Integration Works

When you connect a bank account to Tiller, here's what happens:

1. You enter bank credentials - Tiller opens Plaid's secure connection flow where you log in to your bank
2. Plaid authenticates with your bank - Your credentials are sent directly to your bank through Plaid's encrypted connection
3. Plaid retrieves transaction data - Once authenticated, Plaid pulls your transaction history (up to 2 years, depending on the bank)
4. Tiller syncs to your spreadsheet - Tiller takes the data from Plaid and writes it to your Google Sheets or Excel file daily

Tiller vs SheetLink: Both Use Plaid

Both Tiller Money and SheetLink use Plaid for bank connections, but they differ in how they sync data:

Is Plaid Safe?

Yes, Plaid is safe and trusted by major financial apps. Security features include:

• Bank-level encryption - All data is encrypted in transit and at rest
• No credential storage - Plaid doesn't store your bank username/password
• OAuth support - Many banks use OAuth instead of credentials
• Read-only access - Plaid can only read data, never move money
• SOC 2 Type II certified - Independently audited security standards

Why SheetLink's Approach is More Private

While both Tiller and SheetLink use Plaid, SheetLink takes a more privacy-focused approach:

• No stored credentials - SheetLink never stores your Plaid access tokens. You connect fresh each time you sync.
• Manual sync - You control when to sync by clicking a button. No automatic background connections.
• Browser-based - All syncing happens in your browser via a Chrome extension. No server-side credential storage.
• Transparent - SheetLink is open-source. You can see exactly how it works.

Other Bank Connection Methods

Besides Plaid, some services use alternative bank connection providers:

• Yodlee/Envestnet - Used by Mint, Personal Capital, QuickBooks
• Finicity - Used by Credit Karma, Rocket Mortgage
• MX - Used by various credit unions and regional banks
• Akoya - Newer bank data network owned by major banks

Plaid is the most widely supported and developer-friendly option, which is why most modern financial apps (including Tiller and SheetLink) choose it.