Millions of investors and other financially astute individuals have added “Plaid” to their cell phones… is it safe? I had never heard of Plaid until recently when I tried to link my personal checking account to a Citibank Savings accent I had recently opened. Citibank was offering a very attractive rate from a savings account, 3.85%, and their promotions featured transferring funds using Plaid when installed on an iPhone or Android.

For their customers that did not want to use Plaid, the option for entering the routing number and account number or using a debit card was still available. Not wanting to install yet another app on my phone, I opted to provide the second option. But when I correctly entered my routing number/account number, a message came back that the account number did not exist. Frustrated, I entered my debit card information, but the same response can back… the card number was not recognized.

Finally, I decided to leak into a “new” method of transferring funds, the Plaid application. I checked the reviews, the information submitted to plaid was safe and encrypted. My usual standby for information, Wikipedia, gave it high marks, and Plaids website assured me that no sensitive information would be shared with any financial institution unless I had permitted then to do so in writing. Ok, I told myself, lets give it a shot.

Clicking on the link provided on the Citibank website, the required information surfaced as expected, and I began filling in the information, until the app asked for the user name and password for my checking account. I balked at giving this information, but decided to do so… could millions of other financial adept people confidentially provide this sensitive information, I guess I could as well. Besides, the app was easy to use, and I was assured of a smooth transfer of funds. Then an unexpected thing happened. A screen opened asking me to agree to the Citi Instant Account Verification Terms and Conditions. Assuming it was the usual terminology stating that Citi would not share information and other typical jargon, I scrolled to the last page and was ready to hit the agree button. Then I paused. This agreement was seven page long and I decided it deserved my attention, so I read it.

I was shocked!… the following narrative was found on the first page….