Account Linking & Security in PocketGuard

Can I use PocketGuard without linking an account and why linking accounts is important?

Here’s the list of all the benefits that PocketGuard will offer once you link bank accounts:

• pulling transactions and account balances directly from your financial institutions;
• tracking recurring transactions (bills & income);
• analyzing and notifying how much you’ve spent in unbudgeted categories;
• up-to-date transaction history and account balances;
• finding active subscriptions you may have forgotten about;
• finding bills in order to negotiate better prices on your behalf;
• spending reports and insights.

NOTE: if you feel more confident with manual tracking, you can start using the app without connecting accounts. To do this, you need to manually add your transactions to our internal accounts – cash accounts. You can link bank accounts anytime later.

Your security is our priority.

Here at PocketGuard, we believe that security is the cornerstone of any financial app and ensure that our solution meets high industry standards for interacting with financial and private data.

Why does PocketGuard need my card login information?

To display your account details, PocketGuard needs to view the transactions on your financial statements. When you register a financial account for PocketGuard tracking, we encrypt your login credentials and, with the help of our data aggregation partners, establish a secure connection with your card issuer.

For improved safety, we purposefully do not store any of your credit/debit card account credentials. 

Once your credentials are confirmed, PocketGuard is granted “read-only” access to your transaction history. This means that PocketGuard can only see descriptions and amounts for your purchases. We cannot move money into or out of your accounts, nor can we change any aspect of your accounts.

What is “read-only” access?

By connecting to PocketGuard, you’re granting us permission to view your card activity through something called “read-only” access. Put another way, you’re allowing us to “look” but not “touch”. We cannot change your personal information in any way, and we certainly can’t move money around. It’s as if we were looking at your card statement through a plexiglass box. We can see it, and that’s it.

High technology standards.

PocketGuard transfers data with the same security level as your banking application. We use the same 256-bit SSL and advanced Encryption standards as banks and other financial institutions.

Double layer of protection.

With our PIN code and password combination, nobody can access your financial information, even if you lose your phone.

If you have any concerns or questions about PocketGuard’s security, please contact us at support@pocketguard.com.