Secure Bank Integration
Automatically sync transactions from 10,000+ banks with read-only, encrypted connections
Connect your bank accounts once, and Cake Budget handles the rest. Automatic transaction syncing, real-time balance updates, and intelligent automation—all powered by secure, read-only access to your financial data.
What Bank Integration Enables
Automatic Transaction Syncing
No more manual entry:
- Transactions sync automatically multiple times per day
- Purchases appear within minutes to hours of posting
- 90 days of history imported on first connection
- Ongoing updates as transactions occur
What syncs:
- Every purchase, deposit, transfer, and fee
- Merchant names
- Transaction amounts and dates
- Pending and posted status
- Account balances (current and available)
Real-Time Balance Updates
Always know your true financial position:
- Account balances update with every sync
- Safe-to-Spend recalculates automatically
- On Track status updates for slice goals
- No manual balance tracking needed
Intelligent Automation
Bank integration powers:
- Funding Schedules: Auto-detect paychecks and allocate to slices
- Automation Rules: Auto-categorize transactions by merchant
- AI Insights: Analyze spending patterns for recommendations
- Recurring Detection: Identify subscriptions and recurring bills
Without bank integration: None of these features work. Manual budgeting only.
Powered by Plaid
The same technology trusted by:
- Venmo
- Acorns
- Betterment
- Robinhood
- 8,000+ other financial apps
Why Plaid:
- Connects to 10,000+ US banks
- Bank-level security (256-bit encryption)
- SOC 2 Type II certified
- Industry-standard compliance
- Direct bank API integrations (not screen scraping)
Security Features
1. Read-Only Access
Cake Budget can NEVER:
- ❌ Transfer money between accounts
- ❌ Initiate payments or withdrawals
- ❌ Change account settings
- ❌ Access account documents
Cake Budget can ONLY:
- ✅ View transactions
- ✅ View account balances
- ✅ View account names and types
Result: Even if systems were compromised, your money is safe.
2. No Credential Storage
Your bank passwords stay secure:
- You enter credentials directly into Plaid (not Cake Budget)
- Plaid authenticates with your bank
- Plaid gives Cake Budget an access token
- Your passwords never touch our servers
3. Bank-Level Encryption
All data encrypted:
- HTTPS/TLS for all connections
- 256-bit encryption in transit
- Encrypted database storage
- Secure access token handling
4. Multi-Factor Authentication Support
Your bank’s security stays active:
- SMS codes
- Email verification
- Push notifications
- Security questions
- Authenticator apps
Plaid supports all MFA methods your bank requires.
Supported Institutions
Coverage
10,000+ US banks and credit unions:
- All major national banks
- Regional banks
- Credit unions
- Credit card issuers
- Some investment platforms
Major banks supported:
- Chase
- Bank of America
- Wells Fargo
- Citi
- Capital One
- US Bank
- PNC
- Discover
- American Express
- And thousands more
Check compatibility: Search for your bank during connection setup.
What You Can Connect
Account types supported:
- ✅ Checking accounts
- ✅ Savings accounts
- ✅ Credit cards
- ✅ Money market accounts
- ✅ CDs (certificates of deposit)
- ✅ Some investment accounts
Connection limits by tier:
- Budget Pro: 2 institutions, 5 accounts
- Family: 5 institutions, 12 accounts
Connection Lifecycle
Initial Connection (30-90 seconds)
What happens:
- Click “Connect Bank Account”
- Plaid window opens
- Search for and select your bank
- Enter online banking credentials
- Complete MFA if required
- Select which accounts to connect
- Authorize the connection
- Initial sync begins (up to 180 days of history)
- Transactions appear in your app
First sync includes:
- Up to 180 days of transaction history
- Current account balances
- Account names and types
Ongoing Syncing (Automatic)
Multiple syncs per day:
- Bank syncs with Plaid (3-5 times daily)
- Plaid notifies Cake Budget via webhook
- Cake Budget immediately syncs your data
- New transactions appear
- Balances update
- Automation executes
Plus daily backup sync at 3 AM (safety net for missed webhooks)
Connection Maintenance
Connections expire when:
- You change your bank password
- Bank requires periodic re-authentication (every 90-180 days)
- MFA settings change
- Bank system upgrades
Reconnecting is easy:
- Receive email notification
- Click “Reconnect” in Settings
- Enter current credentials
- Complete MFA
- Connection restored immediately
No data loss, no duplicates.
Managing Connections
View Connected Banks
Settings → Accounts & Institutions shows:
- Institution name and logo
- Connection status (healthy, needs reconnection, error)
- Number of accounts connected
- Last sync timestamp
- Action buttons
Add More Accounts
Connect additional banks anytime:
- Click “Connect Bank Account”
- Follow Plaid flow
- Up to your tier limits (2 or 5 institutions)
Remove Connections
Disconnect a bank:
- Click “Remove” next to institution
- Confirm action
- Future syncing stops
- Historical transactions preserved
Use cases:
- Closed the account
- Switched banks
- Reached connection limit
- No longer want automatic syncing
Key Benefits
1. Time Savings
Manual budgeting:
- 50 transactions/month × 30 seconds each = 25 minutes/month
- 300 minutes/year wasted on data entry
Automatic syncing:
- 0 minutes on data entry
- 300 minutes/year saved for actual budgeting
2. Accuracy
Manual entry errors:
- Typos in amounts
- Wrong categories
- Forgotten transactions
- Delayed entries
Automatic syncing:
- Exact amounts from bank
- Auto-categorized by rules
- Never miss a transaction
- Immediate updates
3. Complete Picture
Manual tracking:
- Easy to forget cash transactions
- Miss small purchases
- Incomplete financial picture
Automatic syncing:
- Every transaction captured
- Including forgotten purchases
- True spending visibility
4. Enables Automation
Bank integration unlocks:
- Funding schedules (paycheck auto-allocation)
- Automation rules (smart categorization)
- AI insights (spending pattern analysis)
- Recurring detection (subscription tracking)
Result: “Set it and forget it” budgeting.
Common Questions
Q: Is it safe to connect my bank? A: Yes. Plaid is used by thousands of apps and uses bank-level encryption. Your credentials never reach Cake Budget servers.
Q: Can Cake Budget move my money? A: No. Strictly read-only access. We can only view data, never transfer funds.
Q: Which banks are supported? A: 10,000+ US banks including all major institutions. Search during connection to verify yours.
Q: How often do transactions sync? A: Multiple times per day when your bank syncs with Plaid, plus a daily backup sync at 3 AM.
Q: What if my bank isn’t supported? A: Plaid supports almost all US banks. If yours isn’t available, contact support@trycakebudget.com.
Q: Can I connect investment accounts? A: Some investment platforms are supported, but Cake Budget is optimized for checking, savings, and credit card accounts.
Q: Does connecting affect my credit score? A: No. Viewing transactions doesn’t impact credit scores. No credit checks are performed.
Q: Can I temporarily pause syncing? A: You can disconnect and reconnect later. Historical data is preserved.
Related Guides
- How to Connect Your Bank Account - Step-by-step connection guide
- Reference: Plaid Integration - Technical details about Plaid
- Reference: Security & Privacy - How your data is protected
- Feature: Automatic Transaction Sync - How syncing works
Connect your bank securely: Start your free 30-day trial at trycakebudget.com