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Credit Dashboard User Guide

This guide walks through all of the core steps related to using Plaid’s Credit Dashboard functionality for everyday use.

Initial onboarding

The Credit Dashboard is a tab within the general Plaid Dashboard located at plaid.com. In order to gain access to the Plaid Dashboard, please ask your internal Plaid administrator to send you an email invitation to your organization’s Plaid Team via the dashboard, under Settings > Team Settings > Members.

Dashboard Team Settings Members page with tabs for Active and Invited Members and a button that reads 'Add a team member.'

Once you receive the email invitation, you will be asked to create an account with an email and password.

An email with the message "You have been added to a team on Plaid" and a button to accept the invitation.

Two-factor authentication is enabled, so future logins will be routed through your organization’s SSO, if applicable.

To access the Credit Dashboard, navigate to www.plaid.com and click on Log In. Once you are logged in, you will see the Credit tab on the left side navigation menu.

Clicking on the Credit tab will direct you to the User Profiles list where you can select specific profiles or create a new Link session.

Creating Link sessions for bank linking

Link sessions are the method by which end users securely connect their bank accounts to your application. This process is managed and secured by Plaid.

  1. Select Create Link at the top of the page to begin the process.

    The Credit Dashboard Profiles page with the "Create Link" button in the top right corner highlighted.

    Plaid offers two environments — Sandbox for testing and Production for live data. Sandbox should only be selected for testing purposes; all other scenarios should use Production.

  2. Enter details and configure the session. A popup will display. Enter details about the end user/applicant and configure the bank connection session.

    Modal to Create Link with Customer Details populated for a user named Layla Sinclair. Under Financial Details, the "Assets" checkbox is checked, and Time is set to "Last 3 months."

    • Reference ID is optional. This ID will be displayed later in the Dashboard view and can be used to search for the applicant. This can be any ID from other systems to help you match the applicant across systems. Examples include a CRM ID, application ID, user ID, loan ID, etc.
    • Select the appropriate Financial Details you want to request from the applicant. If you are unsure of which products to select, confirm with your internal administrator.
    • Select the Time period. This determines how many days' worth of transactions Plaid will pull from the applicant’s bank account.
    • If your organization is relying on Plaid to send this bank connection session to the applicant via Plaid’s email service:
      • Ensure the email address is accurate; the email will be sent to this address.
      • Select the Send Secure Link via Email checkbox before clicking Create Link.

  3. Deliver the session to the applicant. The bank connection session is created. Next, you need to deliver this to the end user/applicant.

    • If Plaid is delivering this session to the applicant, you will see a Send Link button. This will automatically email this link session to the email address provided in step 2.

      Modal to Create Link. There is a red box around the form submission button, which reads "Send Link" and has the option to "Send Secure Link via Email" checked.

    • If you are using your organization’s own delivery method, you will see the option to copy a unique URL after clicking Create Link. You can send this URL to the user through your primary communication channels.

      Link Created confirmation modal with a summary of user details and a copyable link, which expires in 7 days.

Reviewing user profiles

  1. Find the applicant after they successfully connect their bank account.

    • Once the end user completes the Link session, their bank data will automatically be displayed in the User Profiles list. Refresh the page to see the most recently created User Profiles.

      The Profiles page of the Credit Dashboard, displaying a list of profiles. A profile for a user named Layla Sinclair is highlighted.

    • To find a specific user, you can either search by first name, last name, email address, or Reference ID. You may also sort by the date the report was generated for the applicant.

  2. Click on a specific applicant to see their User Profile.

    The data displayed may vary depending on which products your organization purchased from Plaid.

    Example Credit Dashboard user overview page, displaying summary cards, a list of connected accounts, a list of income streams, profile details, and user contact information.

  3. Click on the Income tab to view income-related data.

    Your organization must purchase the Bank Income product in order to have access to this screen. If you would like access, please reach out to your Plaid Account Manager.

    This section displays detailed information about the user’s income streams, including frequency, amounts, and other information used for Income Verification.

    Example Credit Dashboard income streams page, displaying statistics about current and projected income, income streams, and income transactions.

  4. Click on the Accounts tab to see Identity, Balance, and Transactions data.

    The Accounts tab displays all connected banks and accounts as well as the identity data stored at the bank. This information is useful for ensuring that the end user/applicant is the same individual that owns the bank account.

    Example Credit Dashboard account data page, with summary cards about current balance, available balance, average balance, and active credit accounts. There is also a graph breaking down assets by account type.

    If your organization is using Plaid’s Assets product, you will see detailed Balance and Transactions data displayed below.

    A list of transactions on the Credit Dashboard. Each row has a date, description, category, and withdrawal/deposit amount.

    Scroll through the Transactions list to find specific transactions. Each transaction is assigned a category to help draw attention to specific transactions based on the category tag.

  5. Click on the Export button to generate a PDF copy, if necessary.

    Note: this action triggers a billable event and will be charged to your organization. Only export the PDF if it is a necessary step of your process.

    If a PDF copy of the report is required, the Export button will download a PDF copy.

    An example Credit Dashboard page with the "Download" button in the upper right corner highlighted.

    The PDF will export the Income tab and the Accounts tab separately. This is because this data belongs to separate API products.

  6. Mark as done when the review is complete.

    Once you are done reviewing the applicant’s bank data, click on the Mark as done button in the top right corner of the screen. Marking as done will move the applicant to the bottom of the list where you initially searched and selected the applicant.

    An example Credit Dashboard page with the "Mark as done" button in the upper right corner highlighted.

    Marking as done does not delete the data. It is only intended to organize applicants into a “To Do” and “Completed” distinction on the search screen. You can still search for and review archived applicants.

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