The Manage External Accounts extension provides an enhanced version of the previously available Add External Account functionality, allowing users to instantly link an external account or add an account using micro-deposits with Plaid.
Note
Plaid is a third party provider of funding verification services, which allows customers to instantly authenticate external account ownership from supported financial institutions (FIs). The Q2 Plaid adapter is required to use the Plaid workflow. The Plaid micro-deposit feature is enabled by default in Q2 for FIs with Plaid, but a request to Plaid is required to enable same day micro-deposits. Same day micro-deposits come at no extra cost to FIs licensed for Plaid and the Q2 Plaid adapter.
This section describes the Manage External Account options available to FIs, noting the product capability, functionality, and configurable options within the scope of Manage External Accounts.
Users can add their external checking or savings accounts through Plaid-connected FIs to more easily complete credit or debit transactions without needing to manually locate user account numbers. Likewise, Plaid helps to ensure that the provided information is accurate, which reduces errors.
Plaid APIs used in this extensions include:
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Auth—initiates requests to access the user's account information through the FI.
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Identity—verifies the user's identity by accessing and verifying contact information on file with their FI.
Not all FIs are available using instant account verification. Plaid micro-deposits allows for connecting to an external checking or savings account through manually verified micro-deposits. To do so, Plaid makes a deposit that should post within one business day using Same Day ACH. The user then is instructed to manually verify the code in the transaction description provided in the deposited account.
Note
This feature allows users who fail to complete instant account verification to select a different option to connect their external accounts.
Account linking with Q2 micro-deposits provides the functionality for initiating micro-deposits to verify and link external accounts in Online Banking (OLB). Q2 manages transfers for linking, while the extension allows end users to input the external account information necessary to initiate two small deposits (less than one dollar). These two small deposits are made via the ACH network and typically appear in the receiving account within two to three business days. These deposit amounts need to be verified on the form to successfully link the account.