Sellers Leery of Etsy Bank-Account Verification Test - EcommerceBytes

Summary

Some sellers are concerned about sharing the password of their bank account with a company called Plaid. Etsy posted the following notice of the test on a help page on its website:

Some sellers are concerned about sharing the password of their bank account with a company called Plaid. Etsy posted the following notice of the test on a help page on its website:

"US sellers may see an option to connect with Plaid to add their bank accounts. We're testing an easy, secure way of verifying your bank details to help ensure you'll receive your deposits without trouble. If you're asked to connect with Plaid, follow the prompts. If you're in the US and aren't asked to connect with Plaid, you don't need to take further action to verify your bank details. Learn about Plaid's security measures ."

The fact Etsy says it's testing the company isn't necessarily reassuring.

One of the sellers who alerted us to Etsy's new verification process said they were concerned about Plaid's reputation and wrote, "I don't use apps at all, and my bank won't cover fraud if I share my password."

Another seller who asked us to look into Etsy's use of Plaid also noted that the app required users to enter their bank information and password.

Sellers are also discussing Etsy's test of Plaid on the discussion boards . We haven't seen a response from Etsy as of this writing (late Monday afternoon).

We asked Etsy PR about sellers' concerns and how they were responding to them, we'll provide an update if and when we learn more.