Execute a Plaid Transfer end-to-end from account linking through authorization to fund movement
domain: docs.plaid.com · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Link the user's bank account using Plaid Link with the transfer product enabled; on successful link, store the access_token and the account_id of the verified account
Create a transfer authorization by calling /transfer/authorization/create with the access_token, account_id, type (debit or credit), network (ach or rtp), amount, and user details; the authorization response includes an authorization ID and an authorization decision
If the authorization decision is approved, immediately create the transfer by calling /transfer/create with the authorization_id; the Plaid Transfer authorization expires in approximately 1 hour — do not delay between authorization and transfer creation
Monitor the transfer status via /transfer/event/sync or webhooks; ACH transfers progress through pending → posted → settled; RTP transfers settle in near real-time
Handle failed or returned transfers by inspecting the failure_reason field; implement retry logic only for soft failures and permanently halt retries for authorization-revoked return codes
Known gotchas
The authorization window is approximately 1 hour; if your workflow involves user review or approval between authorization and transfer creation, you risk expiry — consider building an authorization refresh mechanism
Plaid Transfer uses risk scoring to produce the authorization decision; an approved decision does not guarantee settlement — the underlying ACH can still return; build return handling regardless of authorization decision
Plaid Transfer credit (pushing money to a user's bank account) requires your Plaid plan to include the credit transfer feature; debit and credit are separately permissioned
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