Setup
Connect your Plaid API keys
Create a Plaid account, find your client_id and secret in the Plaid Dashboard, and add them to BankBridge. Covers Sandbox and Production secrets.
Last updated by the PluginLoom team
BankBridge talks to Plaid with two values from your Plaid account: a client_id and a secret. Plaid gives you one client_id for your team and a separate secret for each environment, Sandbox and Production.
How do I create a Plaid account?#
Sign up at dashboard.plaid.com (opens in a new tab). Creating an account and testing in Sandbox is free, according to Plaid's pricing page (opens in a new tab). Your Plaid developer account is separate from a personal Plaid account at my.plaid.com, which people use to manage the data they share (Plaid account docs (opens in a new tab)).
Where are my keys?#
Your keys are on the Keys page (opens in a new tab) of the Plaid Dashboard. Plaid's Quickstart (opens in a new tab) describes them this way:
| Key | What Plaid says it is | Same in Sandbox and Production? |
|---|---|---|
client_id | "Private identifier for your team" | Yes |
secret | "Private key, one for each of the two environments" | No, each environment has its own |
How do I add them to BankBridge?#
- Open the BankBridge settings screen in WordPress.
- Choose the Sandbox environment.
- Paste your
client_idand your Sandboxsecret. - Save, then run a test connection with
user_good/pass_good.
When Plaid approves you for Production, come back, switch the environment to Production and paste your Production secret. See Sandbox vs Production.
How should I protect my secret?#
Treat the secret like a password.
- Never paste it into a page, a widget, a form field or JavaScript. It belongs on the server only.
- Limit who has WordPress administrator access.
- If you think it leaked, click Rotate in the Keys section of the Plaid Dashboard, paste the new secret into BankBridge, then Delete the old one. Plaid's account security docs (opens in a new tab) say the old secret stays active until you delete it.
- Turn on two-factor authentication for your Plaid Dashboard login. Plaid supports text message codes and authenticator apps.
What does INVALID_API_KEYS mean?#
It means the client_id or secret does not match the environment you are calling. Plaid's error docs (opens in a new tab) say this often happens after switching environments without switching keys. Check that a Sandbox secret is paired with the Sandbox environment, and a Production secret with Production.
Sources#
Checked October 23, 2026.
- Plaid, Quickstart (opens in a new tab)
- Plaid, Account (opens in a new tab)
- Plaid, Invalid input errors (opens in a new tab)
- Plaid, Pricing (opens in a new tab)
- Plaid, Account security (opens in a new tab)
Plaid is a trademark of Plaid Inc. BankBridge is an independent plugin and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Plaid.
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