At Coinbase, we prioritize the security of your sensitive information. Here's how we protect your bank account information:
Encryption: We store your account numbers and routing numbers using bank-level AES-256 encryption on our servers. This ensures that your information is securely stored.
Secure Communication: All traffic between your device and Coinbase is encrypted to prevent any third-party eavesdropping on your connection. This ensures that your data remains private during transmission.
Restricted Access: Employee access to customer data is heavily restricted, and we conduct background checks on all employees to ensure the highest level of security.
Using Plaid for bank account verification
When linking your bank account, we work with a trusted third-party service provider called Plaid Technologies, Inc. (Plaid) to facilitate instant account verification and bank account transfers. You may be familiar with the Plaid verification process if you’ve ever verified a bank account on PayPal, Venmo, or similar services. Here's how it works:
Bank Account Credentials: Your banking credentials (username and password) are never sent to Coinbase. Instead, they are securely shared with Plaid for the purpose of instant account verification.
Plaid's Privacy Policy: Plaid collects, uses, and protects your information according to their privacy policy. You can learn more about Plaid's privacy practices by visiting Plaid's Privacy Policy.
Coinbase User Agreement and Privacy Policy: To understand how Coinbase uses your linked bank account, you can refer to the Coinbase User Agreement and the Coinbase Privacy Policy.
Plaid makes it easy to connect your bank account with Coinbase by offering faster, more secure, and more reliable payment method linking than the old-school test deposits. Learn more about Plaid.
Does Coinbase have access to my bank account credentials if I link via Plaid?
No, Coinbase does not have access to your bank account credentials if you link via Plaid. We will never ask for your bank account username or password. If anyone claiming to be associated with Coinbase Support requests this information, please cease all communication and immediately contact us.
When you connect your bank account via Plaid, you authorize Coinbase to receive certain information from your bank:
Bank account number
Bank routing number
Bank account owner information
Name
Address
Phone number
Email address
Account balance
This information is used by Coinbase to protect you from fraudulent transactions and ensure that you are the owner of the bank account with sufficient funds.
What does Plaid do with my data?
Rest assured that Coinbase does not share any of your data with Plaid. Plaid does not have access to your Coinbase activity, such as your Coinbase balance, assets, or trading activity.
Plaid takes the security of your data seriously. To learn more about Plaid's security measures, you can visit Plaid's safety information page.
Plaid's privacy policy states that they do not share your data without your permission and do not sell or rent your financial information to outside companies. You can learn more about how Plaid handles your data by visiting Plaid's privacy policy.
Bank account verification options
While we encourage the use of Plaid for instant verification, we understand that you may have preferences. If you prefer not to use Plaid, you can add another accepted payment method to your Coinbase account.