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Your money data is private.
Full stop.

Cents never stores your bank credentials, account numbers, or transaction history. Here's exactly how it works and what we do โ€” and don't โ€” keep.

How connecting a bank actually works

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You never type credentials into Cents

When you tap "Connect a bank," a secure pop-up from Plaid โ€” a third-party service entirely separate from Cents โ€” handles the login. Your username and password go directly to Plaid and are never seen or transmitted by Cents.

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We only get a token, not your credentials

After you log in through Plaid, we receive a single access token โ€” a long random string. Think of it like a valet key: it lets us ask Plaid for your account balance and, in future, spending history to power budgeting features. It cannot initiate payments or transfers of any kind.

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Balances are cached for 24 hours, then refreshed

To keep costs low and avoid unnecessary calls to your bank, Cents caches your balance once per day. When you open the app, you see the most recent figure โ€” refreshed automatically if it's more than 24 hours old. The cached snapshot is deleted the moment you disconnect a bank.

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Disconnecting removes everything

When you disconnect a bank, we delete the access token from our database and simultaneously revoke it at Plaid's end via their itemRemove API. After that, neither Cents nor Plaid can access your account.

What Cents stores โ€” and what it doesn't

โœ“Plaid access token (random string, not credentials)Stored
โœ“Your bank's name (e.g., "Chase")Stored
โœ“A 24-hour balance snapshot (auto-refreshed, deleted on disconnect)Stored
โœ“Your goal amounts and savings progressStored
โœ“Your budget categories and monthly incomeStored
โœ“Your email and bcrypt-hashed passwordStored
โœ—Bank username or passwordNever stored
โœ—Account or routing numbersNever stored
โœ—Transaction history (readable via Plaid but not stored by Cents)Never stored
โœ—Card numbersNever stored
โœ—Balance history over timeNever stored
โœ—Your Social Security Number or tax IDNever stored

Security at every layer

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Passwords

bcrypt, cost-12 hash

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Traffic

HTTPS / TLS everywhere

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Database

Encrypted at rest (NeonDB)

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Plaid

SOC 2 Type II certified

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Access control

Per-user session on every request

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Data sales

Never sold or shared

Important disclaimer

Cents is a personal finance tracking tool, not a bank, broker, or licensed financial adviser. Nothing on this app constitutes financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. All figures shown are for informational purposes only to help you understand your own financial picture. Always consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.

Frequently asked questions

Everything you might want to know before connecting your accounts.

Still have questions?

Contact us at jonathanfarhat@gmail.com

Last updated May 2026 ยท Cents by Jonathan Farhat