# Teller **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/teller-io **Vertical:** Developer Tools **Subcategory:** Banking API **Tier:** Emerging **Website:** teller.io **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary Teller is a US banking API providing direct connections to bank accounts with instant data access, balance checks, and payment initiation without screen scraping. ## Company Overview Teller is a US-focused banking API that gives developers direct, real-time access to bank account data and payment initiation without relying on screen scraping or batch-updated aggregation services. Unlike legacy financial data aggregators that use credential-based scraping and update account data nightly, Teller establishes direct connections to major US financial institutions and retrieves live transaction and balance data. This approach results in higher data quality, faster refresh rates, and more reliable connections that do not break when banks update their web interfaces. The platform covers accounts at major US banks including Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and hundreds of regional institutions. Teller exposes a clean REST API for retrieving account balances, transaction histories, and identity information, and supports payment initiation through ACH and real-time payment rails. Its developer experience is deliberately simple — authentication, account linking, and data retrieval are designed to require minimal code, with comprehensive documentation and a sandbox environment for testing. Teller competes with Plaid and MX in the US open banking infrastructure space, differentiating through its direct bank connections and emphasis on data freshness. The platform is well-suited for personal finance apps, cash flow lending products, payroll verification tools, and any application where stale or inaccurate bank data creates user trust issues. Teller has attracted developer-centric fintech teams that have experienced reliability problems with incumbent aggregators and prefer a technically transparent alternative with straightforward, usage-based pricing. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How is Teller different from Plaid? Teller uses direct bank connections rather than credential-based screen scraping, which provides faster data refresh rates and more reliable account connections compared to aggregation-based services like Plaid. ### What is Teller? Teller is a US banking API that gives developers direct, real-time access to bank account data and payment initiation through direct bank connections — without credential-based screen scraping, providing higher data quality and connection reliability than aggregation-based alternatives. ### What banks does Teller support? Teller supports major US financial institutions including Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi, and hundreds of regional banks and credit unions, with coverage focused on the US market. ### What can developers do with Teller's API? Teller's API allows developers to retrieve account balances, transaction history, and identity data, and to initiate ACH payments — covering the core banking data and payment needs of personal finance apps, lending platforms, and financial wellness products. ### How does Teller handle bank connection authentication? Teller uses a secure credential flow where users authenticate directly with their bank through a bank-hosted interface. Teller does not store banking credentials — the connection uses tokenized bank authorization that persists without requiring re-authentication. ### Is Teller suitable for production financial applications? Yes. Teller is used by production fintech applications requiring reliable, real-time bank data access. Its direct connection architecture makes it more suitable than aggregation services for applications where stale or unreliable data creates business risk. ### Does Teller provide webhooks for account updates? Yes. Teller provides webhooks that notify applications when new transactions are available, account status changes, or connections are revoked, enabling real-time data processing without polling the API. ### What is the difference between Teller and Plaid? Both provide bank connectivity APIs, but Teller uses direct bank connections for real-time data while Plaid historically relied more heavily on credential-based aggregation. Teller is US-focused and positions itself on data quality and connection reliability, while Plaid has broader global coverage and a larger installed base. ## Tags developer-tools, api-first, saas, b2b, startup, platform, fintech, infrastructure --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*