Connect a bank account

Tavala can import your transactions and balances from a bank in the United States or Canada. You sign in on your bank's own screen through Plaid, choose which accounts to share, and the transactions arrive by themselves. Tavala can read your accounts and can never move money.

Before you start

• You need an account. A guest sees "Bank sync needs an account" and a Create account button. See create an account.
• You need Tavala Plus with the bank add-on. Each connection is one login at one bank. It is charged only after it connects, never for searching. See the bank connection add-on. On the free plan, Connect a bank opens the Plus sheet: "Bank connections are part of Tavala Plus."
• Your bank must be in the United States or Canada. The country that counts is the bank's, not yours. Other countries are not in the country list on the sheet, so you keep tracking those accounts by hand with a wallet.
• Your device confirms it is you. Before Plaid opens, Tavala asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode on an iPhone or iPad, your fingerprint, face or screen lock on Android, Touch ID or your Mac password on a Mac, and a passkey in a browser. This check happens every time you connect or reconnect a bank. If the device has no screen lock, Tavala says "Set up a screen lock first" (a browser says "Add a passkey first"). Banks you already connected keep importing.
• Plus holds up to 10 bank connections. At the limit you see "Plus holds up to 10 bank

Connect a bank

1. Open SettingsMoneyConnected accounts. On a phone, Settings is the round person icon at the top right. On an iPad or a Mac it is at the foot of the rail or the sidebar.
2. Tap Connect a bank. If you already have one, the button reads Connect another bank.
3. Read the Connect a bank sheet. It makes three promises: Read-only (Tavala can see your transactions and balances and can never move money), Your credentials stay private (you sign in on your bank's own screen and Tavala never sees your password) and Always in your control (disconnect any time, and your imported transactions stay yours).
4. Check Bank's country. If the sheet shows a price line, it reads like "Each bank connection is charged once it connects." with the price when your store gives one. Tap Continue.
5. Confirm it is you on your device when asked.
6. Plaid opens. On a phone you first see Find your bank ("Choose your bank. You'll sign in on its own screen."); Search all banks instead searches every bank. On a Mac, Plaid opens in a sign-in window and Tavala shows "Finish in the Plaid window" with Cancel. In a browser, tap Continue to open Plaid in a new window; if the browser blocks it, allow pop-ups for the site and tap Continue again.
7. Sign in at your bank and choose the accounts to share with Tavala.
8. On the Choose accounts screen, Tavala says "We found" followed by the number of accounts and your bank's name, then "Choose which to import." Each account shows its name, the last digits ("••1234"), its balance and a switch. Switch on the ones you want.
9. For an included account, choose where it goes:
   • Create a new wallet makes a bank wallet for it. For a card or a loan it makes a debt wallet.
   • Maps to lets you pick one of your existing wallets instead. It shows only when you have a matching wallet. Imported rows then sit beside the entries you typed.
10. Tap Import 2 accounts (the number is how many you switched on; with none, the button reads Choose at least one).
11. Tavala says it is importing your bank's history. The card on Connected accounts reads "Importing…" with a spinner until the first import finishes. See what a connected bank imports.

Good to know

• The bank belongs to the space you have open. Its wallets and transactions go into that space. Switch space before you connect if you want it elsewhere. See spaces.
• Payment. If the connection needs paying, Tavala asks right after you choose accounts, and the card reads "Finish adding by 14 Oct, 18:00." with Pay to finish. If it is not paid in time the connection is removed and nothing is imported.
• The same bank twice. Tavala refuses a bank already connected in this space: "This bank is already connected in this space. Reconnect it from Connected accounts instead."
• Limits on unfinished tries. After 2 connections started and not finished in a month, Tavala says "You've started 2 bank connections without finishing them this month. Finish one, or try again later."
• It did not work. "Your bank couldn't connect. Please try again." appears when Plaid reports a problem. Try again; if a bank keeps failing, see fix a bank connection.
• Leaving the Choose accounts screen unfinished gives you 30 days to come back to the card and tap Choose; after that the connection is removed.