Plaid ‘surprised’ by TD Bank trademark suit, denies allegations

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The fintech firm Plaid is denying trademark infringement and false advertising allegations brought by TD Bank in a lawsuit this week.

Plaid executives said they had been in talks with TD Bank “for quite some time” over the issues and were caught off-guard by the formal suit. In a complaint the bank filed on Wednesday, TD accused the data aggregator of using the bank's color scheme and logo to “dupe” customers into providing their usernames and passwords to Plaid, which uses those credentials to collect users’ transaction data and sell the information to third parties.

“We were surprised by TD Bank’s decision to file suit in the midst of our good-faith discussions, which are still ongoing,” Plaid said in a statement Friday. “Plaid is not using TD Bank’s trademarks in an unfair way.”

TD, which is the U.S. unit of Canada’s Toronto-Dominion Bank, said in its lawsuit that it first raised the problems with Plaid in April and was unable to reach a resolution before turning to the courts.

Plaid said its “role and involvement are made clear and our flow helps consumers ensure they select the right account to link to their apps,” according to the company’s statement. Several other firms have raised complaints about Plaid’s alleged misrepresentation and storing of sensitive information outside of banks’ secure servers.

“We have been working with TD for quite some time, and are disappointed that they resorted to litigation and false allegations — Plaid is publicly known for never selling or renting consumers’ personal information,” Plaid said.

TD Bank is seeking $2 million for each type of service Plaid has sold using the bank’s trademarks, along with other damages.