Google Authenticator vs. Plaid

Logging into my work accounts is where Google Authenticator works best. Also, I had a personal account get hacked. I had an account created to book hotels, but someone was constantly resetting my password. To prevent further hacking attempts, I set up Google Authenticator. I do not believe it would be appropriate for banking accounts.

Incentivized

Plaid is extremely well suited to be your payment API if you're a start-up looking to scale your banking connections fast and securely. Their API is fully functional upon integration. Most end-users have encountered Plaid before so it's a trusted platform for many consumers so even if you're a new app, users feel comfortable connecting their bank through Plaid.

Incentivized

• One strength is in how it checks identity to stop unwanted people from getting access.
• Another strength is in cutting down on the frustration of users for the authentication process.
• With the pandemic and needing to work away from the office it also provided additional security in keeping our network/infrastructure safe.

Incentivized

• Plaid connects with 100s of US consumer banks.
• Plaid continuously updates its software to meet the requirements of individual banks.
• Plaid can get your company's payment processing up and running faster than traditional methods.

Incentivized

• I once performed a factory reset of my smartphone which had Google Authenticator. I didn't have a backup for the device. When I restored my phone with the same google account, I was not able to restore the authenticator app settings. I had to add all the keys back into the app to use it. This is cumbersome, but I understand it is set up this way for security reasons.
• I don't like the ease with which it lets you delete a key. If I accidentally delete a key, I am doomed to get my 2FA key reset, unless I still have the QR code saved somewhere.

Incentivized

• Consumer feedback or troubleshooting typically comes back to us because Plaid doesn't have an easy way of re-routing support once a user encounters a problem.
• Update timelines could be clearer when they are working on updating a connection with a certain bank.
• The search functionality for the user to find their bank could be a little more robust.

Incentivized

It works as intended, easy to setup, free and gives you another level of security against any unwanted access or cyber attacks

Incentivized

It's as easy as opening the app and what I need it for is there. I don't have to fumble with other accounts or getting something else to open it for me. I have all the access that I need for the use of the app within seconds and I can get access to the info that I need.

In terms of availability, I had not experienced any issues with outages or the product not working when needed

Incentivized

The performance of google Authenticator is good and I have not experienced any slow downs

Incentivized

I have found Google’s support to be hit or miss. There are times when they are very responsive, and I get my issue resolved quickly, and there are times where a response from them takes weeks. There is no in-between. But my support experience with this particular product is nonexistent because I have not had a problem with it yet. Hopefully, we do not have any problems with it either.

Incentivized

It was easy to implement and it went very smoothly. No issues

Incentivized

First, Google Authenticator meets the security requirements which should be considered "table stakes". Second, simplicity is critical. Many users don' understand why they are setting up MFA (or they just don't care), and so adding additional complications to their day-to-day is always challenging. When it is simple, it makes life a lot easier. Finally, trust (due to the brand name recognition, primarily) removes any notion of "what is this?" that the user may have from being required to install something on their personal device for work purposes.

Incentivized

The product doesn’t have any features of tools that can help it scale

Incentivized

• More secure data = less worried about a data breach.
• Takes longer to log in, and if I don't have my phone then I have to go looking for it, so it really makes it so that you can't be without your phone, which in certain instances is annoying or not possible and can hold up work time.
• Everyone is willing to use the same program because everyone likes Google—makes it easier to manage.

Incentivized

• Plaid got us up and running with most US-based and even some international banks with minimal engineering effort.

Incentivized