Granted Patent B1

US 12,450,652 · App. 17/815,024 · Granted Oct 21, 2025

Inventors: William Hockey (San Francisco, CA); Sharon Rapoport (Arlington, MA)

Assignee: Plaid Inc.

G06Q40/02G06F16/24578G06F16/285G06Q40/08H04L63/0272H04L63/08

Abstract

Claims (53)

1. A computer-implemented method, utilizing an application proxy system and a computing system that stores, for each of a plurality of external institutions, at least one configuration, the method comprising:

receiving, by the computing system, a request to establish a connection with an external institution of the plurality of external institutions, the request being associated with a user account;

selecting, by the computing system, an institution interface module (IIM) that corresponds to the external institution;

obtaining, by the computing system and via the selected IIM and from the at least one configuration, one or more configurations for the external institution;

instantiating, by the computing system, via the application proxy system and utilizing the obtained one or more configurations, a proxy instance of a software application associated with the external institution;

interfacing, by the computing system, via the instantiated proxy instance of the software application, the selected IIM, and an application programming interface (API) of the external institution, with one or more computing devices associated with the external institution;

receiving, by the computing system and based on the interfacing with the one or more computing devices, first transaction data associated with the user account; and

updating, by the computing system, one or more databases based at least in part on the first transaction data.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein updating the one or more databases comprises adding additional transaction data over time as additional transactions occur.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

determining, by the computing system, an evaluation parameter function based on analyzing the first transaction data according to an evaluation parameter; and

updating, by the computing system, the evaluation parameter function based on the additional transaction data utilizing one or more machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithms.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a risk score associated with the first transaction data indicates a likelihood that a user associated with the user account will not pay an amount of a transaction, will initiate a charge back on a transaction, or will have insufficient funds to complete a transaction.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first transaction data includes payment credentials associated with the user account.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first transaction data includes transaction features for a plurality of transactions including dates of transactions, times of transactions, parties to transactions, amounts of transactions, or types of transactions.

7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the evaluation parameter includes one or more of an amount of money in an account, transaction patterns including deviations in transaction amounts according to Benford's law, ratios of transaction amounts, categories of transactions including overdraft, fraud, late fee, or cash advance, payment amounts, times between transactions, or number of transactions within a given time period.

8. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

receiving, by the computing system, the evaluation parameter from a user.

9. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

assessing, by the computing system, accuracy of the risk score by back-testing the first transaction data.

10. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

assigning, by the computing system, the user account to one of a plurality of discrete categories based at least in part on analyzing, by the computing system, the first transaction data based on the evaluation parameter and the evaluation parameter function.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

performing, by the computing system, an action on the first transaction data, wherein performing the action comprises automatically selecting the action, based at least in part on one or more conditions, from a predefined set of actions.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more conditions includes a risk score associated with the first transaction data.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more conditions are customizable by a user.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the action includes permitting a transaction or preventing a transaction.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the action includes initiating a multi-factor authentication (MFA) process.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the action includes activating an application or process associated with the computing system, or activating an application or process associated with the external institution.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the action includes de-authorizing an application or process.

18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the action includes initiating an alert or notification.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the action includes returning the risk score to a reviewer to allow the reviewer to decide whether to engage in a transaction with the user account or with a user associated with the user account.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the action includes returning an account document associated with the user account.

21. The method of claim 11 , wherein the action includes returning results of a transaction or a status of a transaction.

22. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

performing, by the computing system, an additional action on the first transaction data, wherein performing the additional action comprises automatically selecting the additional action, based at least in part on one or more conditions, from a predefined set of actions.

23. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

selecting, by the computing system, a subset of the first transaction data, wherein each user account of the subset of transaction data is associated with a first user account type; and

determining, by the computing system, the evaluation parameter function based on analyzing, by the computing system, the subset of the first transaction data according to the evaluation parameter.

24. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

requesting, by the instantiated proxy instance of the software application and via the API of the external institution, the first transaction data associated with the user account from at least one of the one or more computing devices associated with the external institution.

25. A system for accessing user account data, comprising:

an application proxy system;

a data store that stores, for each of a plurality of external institutions, at least one configuration;

one or more processors; and

one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the operations of:

receiving a request to establish a connection with an external institution of the plurality of external institutions, the request being associated with a user account;

selecting an institution interface module (IIM) that corresponds to the external institution;

obtaining, via the selected IIM and from the at least one configuration, one or more configurations for the external institution;

instantiating, via the application proxy system and utilizing the obtained one or more configurations, a proxy instance of a software application associated with the external institution;

interfacing, via the instantiated proxy instance of the software application, the selected IIM, and an application programming interface (API) of the external institution, with one or more computing devices associated with the external institution;

receiving, based on the interfacing with the one or more computing devices, first transaction data associated with the user account; and

updating one or more databases based at least in part on the first transaction data.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (400)