ID.me and Plaid Announce Partnership to Strengthen the Integrity and Speed of Government Benefit Payments

MCLEAN, Va. and SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ID.me, the next-generation digital identity wallet simplifying how individuals securely prove their identity online, and Plaid, a data network powering the digital financial ecosystem, today announced a partnership that enables government agencies to verify both the person requesting a benefit and the associated financial account receiving it, in one place. By combining ID.me's digital identity wallet with Plaid's financial account verification tools, agencies are able to check that the account receiving a payment belongs to the verified recipient before funds move, with ID.me verifying the person and Plaid verifying the bank account.

This partnership benefits both state and federal agencies as they work to consolidate legacy capabilities, reduce technical duplication, and improve citizen access. Agencies have spent years strengthening identity verification, yet the systems for confirming where the money lands haven't kept pace. A claimant can clear a federal-standard identity check and then enter a bank account that is not theirs. Unemployment insurance improper payments reached $5.6 billion in fiscal year 2025, a rate of 14.9 percent and the fourth consecutive year above the federal standard, according to the Government Accountability Office.

These long-standing capabilities make confirming bank details a paper-heavy and slow process, with multiple openings for fraud, waste, and abuse: a mailed voided check or a manual review queue runs days to weeks. It leaves agencies choosing between accuracy and speed, delaying people who qualify for benefits in order to catch the ones who don't. Through ID.me and Plaid's partnership, recipients link their financial account within the flow they are already completing. Eligible claimants enroll in direct deposit in minutes and agencies continue to disburse through the processor they use today.

"Identity verification tells an agency who is asking to be paid, but it does not tell them where the money is going," said Blake Hall, Founder and CEO of ID.me. "That gap is where benefits go missing, and it's costing our government and everyday Americans billions of dollars. Through our partnership with Plaid, agencies would be able to confirm the account belongs to the verified person before a dollar moves, and eligible people get paid faster."

"For too long, getting benefits to the people who qualify for them has meant a slow, manual process that fraudsters have learned to exploit. Agencies have gotten very good at confirming who someone is. What's been missing is the same confidence about where the money actually lands," said Eric Sager of Plaid. "By partnering with ID.me, we're closing that gap so eligible people get paid in minutes, and every dollar reaches the person it was meant for."

By integrating services, ID.me and Plaid can allow agencies:

• One continuous experience: Recipients verify with ID.me and securely link their bank in the same flow. No bank statements to upload, no waiting for a caseworker to call a financial institution.
• Verification before payment: Account ownership details come from the recipient's own financial institution at the time of the check, matched against the verified identity before funds are released.
• Expanded coverage: The partnership reaches regional banks, credit unions, and digital-first institutions that static databases cover poorly, so fewer eligible recipients are turned away due to where they bank.
• A defensible record: Agencies get one dated record of who was verified and which account was paid, supporting audit and federal compliance requirements.
• Consent and user control: The recipient securely authorizes the bank connection themselves, and sharing is limited to the information the check requires. No account credentials or transaction history move to any agency.

About ID.me

ID.me is the next-generation digital identity wallet that simplifies how individuals securely prove their identity online. Consumers can verify their identity with ID.me once and seamlessly sign in across websites without having to create a new sign-in and verify their identity again. Over 170 million users experience streamlined sign-in and identity verification with ID.me at 22 federal agencies, 50 state government agencies, and more than 85 healthcare organizations. More than 600 consumer brands use ID.me to verify communities and user segments to honor service and build authentic relationships. ID.me's technology meets the federal standards for consumer authentication set by the Commerce Department and is approved as a NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 / AAL2 credential service provider by the Kantara Initiative. ID.me is committed to "No Identity Left Behind" to enable broad access to a secure digital identity. Learn more at https://network.id.me/.

About Plaid

Plaid is a global data network that powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. Our ambition is to facilitate a more inclusive, competitive, and mutually beneficial financial system by simplifying payments, revolutionizing lending, and leading the fight against fraud. Plaid works with thousands of companies, including fintechs, Fortune 500 companies, and many of the largest banks, to give people more choice and control over how they manage their money. Headquartered in San Francisco, Plaid's network spans more than 12,000 financial institutions and 9,000 apps and services across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Europe.

SOURCE ID.me, Inc.