{"article":{"id":15815296432791,"url":"https://plaid.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles/15815296432791.json","html_url":"https://support.plaid.com/hc/en-us/articles/15815296432791-Why-do-I-need-to-use-webhooks","author_id":396033157154,"comments_disabled":false,"draft":false,"promoted":false,"position":2,"vote_sum":0,"vote_count":0,"section_id":15991465989271,"created_at":"2023-07-06T09:57:04Z","updated_at":"2026-06-01T01:59:37Z","name":"Why do I need to use webhooks?","title":"Why do I need to use webhooks?","source_locale":"en-us","locale":"en-us","outdated":false,"outdated_locales":[],"edited_at":"2026-06-01T01:59:37Z","user_segment_id":null,"permission_group_id":1121774,"content_tag_ids":[],"label_names":[],"body":"

A few of the reasons why you might need to use webhooks include:

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  1. \nReal-time Updates: Webhooks provide real-time updates about the status of various processes. For example, Plaid will send a webhook when an Item is in an error state or has additional data available, or when a non-blocking process (like gathering transaction data or verifying a bank account via micro-deposits) is complete.
    2. \n
  2. \nHandling Asynchronous Processes: Some processes in Plaid are asynchronous and may take some time to complete. Webhooks allow Plaid to notify your application when these processes are complete and the data is ready to be accessed.
    3. \n
  3. \nError Handling: If an Item enters an error state, a webhook can be used to notify your application so that you can take appropriate action, such as prompting the user to update their credentials.
    4. \n
  4. \nNew Account Notifications: When Plaid detects that an existing Item has new accounts available at the institution that the user has not yet permissioned, you will receive a NEW_ACCOUNTS_AVAILABLE webhook. To actually add those accounts to the Item, the user must complete Link's update mode with Account Select.
    5. \n
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To read a full list of webhooks that Plaid sends you for a given product, you can navigate to your chosen product in the API section of our docs and select the webhook section.

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