Guardian Landlord uses Plaid to securely connect your bank account for vendor payment processing. This is completely optional — it only affects how vendor charges are processed when Guardian Landlord coordinates repairs on your behalf during Away Mode.

You only need to connect a bank account if you plan to use Away Mode and want to save on per-job processing fees. If you handle all requests yourself, this section doesn't apply to you.

Why connect a bank account?

When Guardian Landlord coordinates a vendor repair during Away Mode, a service fee and any vendor costs are charged to your payment method on file. There are two ways this can be processed:

Method Fee per job Best for
Bank account (ACH) 0.8% (max $5) Active Away Mode users — always cheaper above $17
Credit / debit card 2.9% + $0.30 Occasional use or smaller jobs

For example, on a $500 vendor repair: ACH costs $4.00 (0.8%) while a card would cost $14.80 (2.9% + $0.30). On a $17 job, both cost about $0.79 — ACH saves money on anything above $17. The $5 cap kicks in at $625, so for larger repairs ACH is capped at $5 while card costs keep climbing.

How to connect your bank account

  1. Open the app and go to Settings in the sidebar.

  2. Scroll down to the Billing section.

  3. Under the Manage Billing button, you'll see a Connect Bank Account option. Tap it.

  4. A secure Plaid window will open. Search for your bank and log in using your online banking credentials.

  5. Select the checking account you want to use for vendor payments.

  6. Once connected, you'll see a green "Bank account connected" confirmation in your billing settings.

Use a business checking account if you have one — it keeps your rental income and expenses cleanly separated for tax time.

Is this secure?

Yes. Guardian Landlord uses Plaid, the industry standard for bank account verification, used by thousands of financial apps including Venmo, Robinhood, and Coinbase. Your bank login credentials are never seen or stored by Guardian Landlord — Plaid handles authentication directly with your bank and returns only a secure token.

The bank account you connect is used exclusively for Away Mode vendor charges. It cannot be used to move money out of your account in any other context.

What gets charged to my bank account?

Only charges from Guardian-closed requests during Away Mode. Every charge includes:

  • Guardian service fee — $79.99 per request handled and closed by our team.

  • Vendor cost — the actual cost paid to the vendor (if any), entered by our team before closing.

  • ACH processing fee — 0.8% of the total charge, capped at $5. Passed through at cost. No markup.

You'll receive a detailed email receipt for every charge showing each line item. If you take back a request and handle it yourself, no charge is applied — you're only charged when our team closes the request on your behalf.

ACH payments typically take 3–5 business days to settle. Charges appear immediately as pending in your bank account but may not fully clear for several days depending on your bank.

Can I disconnect my bank account?

Yes. Contact us at info@guardianlandlord.com and we'll remove the connection. If no bank account is on file, vendor charges will automatically fall back to your card on file at the standard 2.9% + $0.30 rate.