Etsy Sellers Struggle With Plaid Bank Account Verification
UPDATE 11-5-22
It looks like Etsy has pushed the deadline to complete verification via Plaid out until January 2023. Is this an indication too many sellers were having problems and Etsy didn't want to miss all important holiday sales?
It looks like Etsy extended the deadline for bank verification until Jan 23 from EtsySellers
I closed my shop a week or so ago, after having it on vacation through most of October. I had a lot of other reasons, but one of the things I decided against doing now was verifying my bank with Plaid. With all the other issues the site is having, I just didn’t feel like it was worth doing.
So all of October was the first countdown. When that ran out, they said I had another 30 days. I got annoyed with the vaguely threatening tone of their verification emails, so I closed my shop instead. Now today I get an email saying that the extension has been pushed out to January! Apparently, they decided the holidays are hectic and we deserved the extra time. They removed the wording about suspending shops, and softened the wording about holding a seller’s funds after the extension period ends. I’m now wondering if the “non-compliant” this time may’ve made a difference after all? Thoughts? Did anyone else receive this email?
UPDATE 9-22-22
Etsy is now telling sellers the emails saying they needed to reverify were a mistake and can be disregarded.
(2/2)
— Etsy (@Etsy) September 22, 2022
This error doesn’t affect your bank account or finances whatsoever. I’m sorry for the confusion this caused!
- Fabiano
We can confirm that some sellers were mistakenly sent an email stating “We couldn’t verify your bank account information” due to an error on Etsy’s end.
This error doesn’t affect your bank account or finances whatsoever.
We’re sorry for the confusion! You can validate if your bank account has been successfully verified via the payment settings under shop manager. If it was successfully verified, you should be all set.
UPDATE 9-21-22
Etsy sellers are now receiving notices that Plaid has been unable to verify their accounts and they are unable to resubmit their account information.
I did the whole Plaid nonsense about a week ago and linked my bank directly to Etsy (kicking and screaming mind you) and just got an email telling me that Plaid was unable to verify the bank info and to log in and fix it. I log in to fix it and the box won't let me open it to "re-enter bank details" to start the process over. You click and it never opens the whatever to let me re-enter. I'm going to lose my mind if this prevents me from getting my weekly deposits when we've done nothing wrong and there's no issues with my bank account.
The technical issues board has an active issue being investigated for these "we couldn't verify your bank account information" emails.
"We couldn’t verify your bank account information" email sent to verified Sellers
There's a team looking into what caused some Sellers who have already verified their bank accounts to receive an email saying they were not verified. Once I've got an update from the team, I'll add it to this thread.
I'll update as more information becomes available.
UPDATE 9-9-22
The Indie Sellers Guild has launched a petition for sellers to express their concerns about Etsy requiring the use of Plaid for account verification.
UPDATE 8-26-22
Etsy has finally put out the public announcement they should have given over a month ago explaining to sellers what Plaid is and why their bank accounts need to be verified.
UPDATE 8-25-22
It looks like Etsy has sent out an email notice to many sellers today telling them they must verify their bank accounts to continue selling on the platform.
Etsy also has updated the help page to give instructions for manual verification if sellers are uncomfortable or unable to log in to their online banking via Plaid to verify.
Do I have to enter an online banking username and password?
You don’t need an online banking username and password to verify your bank account. You can verify with test deposits to your bank account by choosing Manual instead of Instant for How would you like to connect your bank account? when opening Plaid.If you’re able to use an online banking username and password, verifying is usually easier. Verifying with test deposits requires waiting for the deposits to arrive in your bank account and manually entering them on Etsy via Plaid.
I’m getting an error, or I don’t see my bank in Plaid’s search
If an error prevents you from proceeding, or if you can’t find your bank in Plaid’s search, you can still manually verify your bank account with test deposits.Choose Link with account numbers on the Plaid screen where you see an error message or no results in search. You can also choose Manual instead of Instant on Plaid’s first screen.
How to manually verify your bank with test deposits
As an alternative to entering your username and password for online banking, you can verify your bank account with your bank account routing and account numbers. Plaid will send 2 small test deposits to your bank account. Once you see the test deposits in your bank account, you can go back to the Plaid popup in your payment settings to enter the amounts.It may take as little as 1 business day for the test deposits to appear, although most sellers will receive it within 3-5 business days.
Some issues are still being reported - most concerning is that some sellers are getting suspension notices within 24 hours of attempting to verify.
I recently moved across the country and since my bank I have used for forever is not local to my new state, I went and set up bank accounts locally to make things easier for me. On 8/17/2022 I logged into both of my Etsy shops and I initiated the change of my bank account. They now use Plaid and it was noted as a "test run" last I read. So I chose the manual option where they deposit two small deposits and pull it back out, you come back in a few days and verify the deposit amounts.
I woke up on 8/18/2022 to emails from Etsy for both of my shops stating that I failed to come back and verify my bank account information within 30 days of initiating a change in account. Am I on glue? Less than 24 hrs does not equal 30 days. So I ask Etsy to call me. I spoke with two people that day. They confirmed it's a glitch on their side and said there's issues with plaid and the only way to rectify it is use the instant login option.
I logged in and got verified and feel upset that Etsy is forcing me to do this and I don't want to. They lifted the suspension on my shops. They told me to wait a few hours and everything would be restored.
I no longer had the suspension message and it says I am verified. But I see I am not able to purchase shipping labels for orders in my queue and all my listings are gone. I have no active listings on both shops...
...On the PC, I found all the listings in "Inactive" with a bright red flag on all of them saying deactivated by Etsy. Every Etsy support agent I have spoke with has told me that it's stuck like that and it's not an issue with my listings at all, just something that happened from the accidental and unwarranted suspension. They told me that a special team would be looking into it on both shops and contact me via email and there is no ETA. I am now 3 days in to both shops being down.
Others are reporting they receive an error message stating the account number they entered is not correct or doesn't match what Etsy has on file, even though they have verified it is correct.
If you're experiencing issues with verifying your Etsy bank account through Plaid, let us know in the comments below!
UPDATE 7-22-22
A determined Etsy seller has discovered a workaround that allows you to verify a bank account by entering the routing and account number instead of logging into your online banking through Plaid.
So... I decided, after not finding any definitive information about the legal ramifications of this, to try it for myself. I opened a brand new shop, went through the setup (I've been thinking about doing this anyway lol), and got to the part of adding my bank account.
I am in the US, so yes, the Plaid box came up. And this is what happened:
You do NOT have to log into your bank as has been reported. You can simply put your routing and account as is normal and it will take a few days to verify. They make the regular deposits as normal and you must verify them. Now, you cannot progress beyond this page until that is completed. So it does slow down the setup of your shop, however, when starting a new shop do we need it up and running on day one?
Personally, a day or two of waiting is worth it to keep my bank log-in credentials to myself.
So there you have it. This has been falsely reported. I'm guessing people got stuck on that page and felt they had to do it, but all you do is close the browser, click your verification email to verify your account, and go back and add listings, etc. It is that simple.
Etsy appears to be testing using Plaid for micro-deposit bank account verification and some sellers are reporting serious problems as a result.
This plaid service has me at my wits end. Etsy has been testing this new third party bank account verification system and it has majorly failed all of us. My 2nd shop was visible at first, but customers were unable to make purchases. I contacted Etsy support and they got back to me within a week and said to ignore the Plaid verifications, and that they verified my bank info.
Fast forward another two weeks and I'm attempting to ship out orders and my account has been suspended. No way to verify the information as previously tried. Now I'm going to have upset customers because I can't ship out their orders (unless I wanted to ship it out by buying labels at the post office and therefore losing any chance at star seller ratings), I'm losing view traction that I have been working so hard on increasing the last two weeks, and I have no freaking income. I am so angry right now.
It's not clear how many sellers have had their accounts put on hold due to issues with the verification, with a handful of reports on the Etsy community and across social media.
Other sellers are simply concerned about privacy and security when being asked to log in to their online banking through Plaid.
Sad about Plaid from EtsySellers
After reading about issues with trying to use Plaid to verify bank accounts - it looks like Etsy is testing this, and sending emails to some Sellers, asking them to use this. Live testing on our shops, that seems to result in not so good things.
What I want to know is - you get the email of Etsy asking you to do this - do you have to, or is it optional?
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
And some who have tried to sign up are experiencing glitches that continue to push back dates for when their funds will be released.
I was required to sign up with Plaid 2 weeks ago. I didn't like the fact that I had to provide my bank account sign-in and bank account password for Plaid to make deposits to my account from my Etsy shop, (and in researching Plaid, found it had a class-action lawsuit against it for making their website look like they were signed in with their own bank account instead of with Plaid) so I opened an account at a different bank just to be on the safe side. Signed up with Plaid, connected my Etsy account, waited the required 5 business days, then double checked the connections today. The deposit date jumped to Monday the 18th. I was again required to sign up with Plaid, and must wait an additional 5 business days.
Now my other shop is requiring me to sign up with Plaid. I don't know what bugs are in the system and would send a message to Etsy Technical Support, but can only find the help section with a 1-2 day email, which I did. I sent them an email just now about this.
It's scary. I have money in these two shop accounts and need it to pay my bills. I thought it was fine just depositing my money into my bank account, It was safe and secure and it worked. But now, I cannot even do that.
If anyone has been through this with Plaid and knows what I'm doing wrong, please respond. Or any suggestions -???
Why Is Etsy Using Plaid?
Plaid is used by a wide variety of online sites for various financial features and functions - in Etsy's case, it provides the capability for the marketplace (and their payment processor Adyen) to verify your bank account information for payouts using micro-deposits.
How to Update and Verify Your Bank Account for Etsy Payments Deposits
The bank account on file for Etsy Payments is the bank account where your available sales funds will be deposited, per your deposit schedule. Learn how to set up your deposit schedule.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.
Verification for US bank accounts
A small test deposit should appear in your account within 3—7 days. This is a courtesy to let you know that deposits are working properly. Once you see the deposit, no further action is required on your part.If you’re setting up a new shop, you’ll receive a small deposit to your bank account after you open your shop to the public. No deposit will be sent to your bank account while setting up your shop before opening it.
Verification for bank accounts outside the US
If your bank account is located in a country, other than the US, where Etsy Payments is available you will need to verify your bank account before you can receive any funds from your sales.If your shop was opened after March 1, 2022, you can add your bank account after your first sale. Be sure to add your bank details within 30 days of your first sale to avoid your shop being suspended. You’re required to verify your bank details within 60 days or your shop will be suspended.
Much like eBay, Etsy is likely under pressure to increase account verification/vetting due to Know Your Customer (KYC) payment processing requirements and changes to reporting thresholds for income taxes, especially in the US, which may be why they're testing out this new way to verify bank accounts.
The whole debacle underscores the importance of customer service and communication - and the brand damage that can occur when those things are not done well.
There seems to be a lot of confusion among sellers about what Plaid even is or why Etsy is using them. There are also legitimate security concerns and it's totally reasonable for sellers to be leery of providing log in credentials to a 3rd party that they do not know or trust.
The lack of customer service for sellers who are experiencing glitches, holds on funds, and/or account suspensions due this is absolutely inexcusable.
Wasn't Etsy's big pitch about why they needed to increase selling fees a few months ago in part that the extra revenue would be used to improve customer service? 🤦♀️
Have you had problems with Etsy's partnership with Plaid for bank verification? Let us know in the comments below!
