Security
Security, explained plainly
You are trusting Monvo with a live connection to your bank accounts. Here is exactly what that means, what we can and cannot do, and how your data is protected. No fine print, no jargon.
Bank connections
How your bank connection works
Monvo connects to Canadian banks through Plaid, the connection layer used by thousands of finance apps. When you connect a bank, this is what happens:
- A secure Plaid window opens and you sign in with your bank. Monvo never sees your login screen, your password, or your security answers.
- Your bank gives Plaid permission to share your transaction data. Plaid hands Monvo a token that represents that permission.
- Monvo uses that token to pull your transactions and balances. That is all the token can do. It cannot move money, change anything at your bank, or be used by anyone else.
We only ask Plaid for one thing: your transactions, plus the account names and balances that come with them. We do not request account numbers, income data, or anything else Plaid offers. If we do not need it to run Monvo, we do not ask for it.
If you would rather not connect a bank at all, you can upload a PDF statement instead. We extract the transactions from it and work from those.
Data minimization
What we store, and why
We keep the minimum needed to make Monvo work:
- Your email and account details, so you can sign in.
- Your connected institutions and accounts: names, types, and balances.
- Your transaction history synced from your banks, so we can show spending trends, subscriptions, and money on the table.
- Your questions to Ask Monvo, so the feature works.
We do not store your banking password. Ever. Your bank connection is represented by an encrypted token, not by credentials.
Protection
How your data is protected
- Encrypted in transit. All traffic between your device, Monvo, and our database travels over TLS.
- Encrypted at rest. Your data lives in an encrypted database, and your bank connection tokens get an extra layer: each Plaid token is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a dedicated key before it is stored.
- Locked to your account. Every table in our database is protected by row-level security, so your session can only ever read your own data.
- Verified bank updates. When Plaid tells us something changed at your bank, we cryptographically verify the message really came from Plaid before we act on it.
- Your Monvo password is hashed. Sign-in is handled by our auth provider; we never see or store your Monvo password in readable form.
What Monvo will never do
- Move your money. Monvo is read-only, with no code path that can transfer funds.
- Store your banking password. We never receive it in the first place.
- Sell your data or use it for advertising.
- Share your data beyond the providers required to run Monvo.
PIPEDA
Your rights under PIPEDA
PIPEDA is Canada's federal privacy law for how businesses handle personal information. Under it, you have the right to:
- Know what personal information we collect and why.
- See the personal information we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct anything inaccurate.
- Withdraw your consent at any time, including disconnecting your banks or deleting your account.
- Complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada if you believe we have mishandled your information.
To exercise any of these rights, go to Settings in the app or email team.monvo@gmail.com and we will respond.
Frequently asked questions
Does Monvo see or store my bank password?
No. You sign in inside Plaid's secure window, and Plaid exchanges that login for a token. Monvo only ever receives the token.
Could someone move money through my Monvo connection?
No. The connection is read-only by construction. Monvo has no ability to initiate transfers, payments, or any movement of funds, and neither does anyone who might obtain a token, because the token itself only permits reading data.
Exactly what does Monvo get from my bank?
Your transactions, plus account names, types, and balances. Not your account numbers, not your login credentials, and not the ability to transact.
Where is my data stored, and for how long?
In our encrypted database. We keep your data while your account is active so Monvo keeps working. If you disconnect a bank, we revoke the connection and stop syncing. If you delete your account, we delete your data.
What happens if there is a security incident?
We have an internal response plan. If an incident creates a real risk of significant harm, PIPEDA requires us to notify you and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, and we will.
Do you use my data to train AI models?
No. When you use Ask Monvo, the relevant transactions are sent to our AI provider solely to generate your answer.
Trust is the whole product.
Monvo only works if you believe your money data is safe with us. If anything on this page is unclear, ask us directly: team.monvo@gmail.com