Connect a bank

Buoy reads your transactions through Plaid, the service most US finance apps use. The connection is read-only: Buoy can see balances and transactions but can’t move money, and your bank password goes to Plaid, never to Buoy.

Who can do this: anyone on a plan or in the free trial. In a family, the Owner or a Budget Admin.

Where: US banks. Canadian bank sync is on the roadmap; in Canada you can add transactions by hand for now.

Before you start: two-factor

Banks require two-factor security before an app can link an account, so Buoy asks for it first. If you haven’t set it up, you’ll see “One quick step first” with three options:

• Use a passkey (shown if your device supports passkeys)
• Use an authenticator app
• Use an email code, marked least secure

After you set one up, Plaid opens straight away. An email code lets you link banks for 30 days; after that Buoy asks you to add a passkey or authenticator app before linking another bank. Banks you’ve already linked keep syncing either way.

You also need a verified email. See Two-factor and security.

Link the bank

1. Open the Accounts tab.
2. Tap Connect Bank (or Connect Another Bank at the bottom if you already have one).
3. Tap Connect Bank in the sheet and follow Plaid: find your bank, sign in, pick the accounts to share.

You’ll see “Connected to (your bank)! Quick sync started.”

What happens next

• Your last 30 days of transactions arrive right away.
• Up to two years of history import in the background. The bank card shows “Importing transactions…” until it’s done.
• New transactions arrive on their own from then on. See Syncing and managing connections.

Linking the same bank twice is refused; use Update Connection on the existing one instead.