Plaid and ID.me have announced a partnership to integrate ID.me’s digital wallet with Plaid’s financial account verification tools. The collaboration aims to allow government agencies to confirm that bank accounts belong to verified recipients before processing benefit payments.
The initiative addresses gaps in current systems where claimants pass identity checks but provide bank account details that do not belong to them. According to the Government Accountability Office, improper unemployment insurance payments reached $5,6 billion in fiscal year 2025, representing a 14,9% rate.
This figure marks the fourth consecutive year that improper payments have exceeded federal standards. Current verification processes often rely on manual reviews or mailed documents, which can take days or weeks to complete, forcing agencies to choose between payment speed and accuracy.
Through the new integration, claimants can link their financial accounts during the existing verification flow. This allows for direct deposit enrollment in minutes while enabling agencies to continue using their current payment processors for disbursements.
ID.me CEO Blake Hall noted that while identity verification confirms the identity of the requester, it previously failed to verify the destination of funds. This gap has resulted in billions of dollars in losses for the government and citizens.
