Connect your first bank

Seeing comes first. Connecting your bank puts what you’ve been given in one place, where you can keep watch over it. “Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds.” (Proverbs 27:23, WEB)

The first time you log in, Above Money says hello. Press Let’s start, then choose Connect your bank. A window from Plaid opens. Search for your bank and sign in there. When it’s done, a page shows which accounts came in and what to do next. If you press Finish later, Home’s setup card picks up where you stopped. Already know your way around? Press I know my way aroundon the first page, and you go straight to Home.

Once setup is done, Home asks about one next step a day for your first month, like making your first budget or setting up your notifications. Answer Yes, Remind me tomorrow, or Don’t remind me again. To see them all, or to turn them off, go to Settings → Setup.

To add a second or third bank later, go to Accounts → Banks and press Connect a bank (on a phone, it’s the + at the top). That page is also where you look after the banks you have. Each bank has its own card, with its accounts under it.

Your bank password goes to Plaid, not to us. We never see it, so we have nothing to store. Plaid sends us back a key that can only read that one bank’s data. We encrypt the key before we save it.

What comes in

• Your accounts at that bank, with their balances.
• The last 90 days of transactions. Not your whole history. 90 days is what we ask for, and it’s enough to build a budget from.
• For cards and loans, the rate and minimum payment, if your bank shares them. That way the payoff math uses real numbers, not ones you typed in.

If your bank isn’t listed

Plaid works with most US banks, but not all of them, and the list changes. You can still keep track of the account. See Adding manual accounts and debts. A manual account works like any other, except that nothing comes in on its own. You add what comes and goes yourself.

Two logins at one bank

If you and your Spouse each have your own login at the same bank, connect both. We treat them as two bank logins, not a duplicate. Each one counts as a bank on your plan. What matters is that everything your home has been given ends up where you can see it.