> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.methodfi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is Method

> Method is the infrastructure layer for consumer liability data and payments.

In a financial ecosystem where liability information is fragmented across thousands of institutions, reported inconsistently, and often weeks out of date, Method provides a single, unified platform that brings structure and reliability to this fragmented landscape.

<Note>
  These Guides cover concepts and product decisions. For implementation details and code, see the [API Reference](/reference/introduction).
</Note>

## How Method Works

Unlike aggregators that require users to share their bank login credentials, Method uses a fundamentally different approach. When a user verifies their identity, Method performs a soft credit pull (no impact to the user's credit score) to automatically discover all of their liabilities, without any manual account entry or credential sharing.

Once accounts are discovered, Method can retrieve real-time data directly from financial institutions for supported accounts, giving you current balances, due dates, interest rates, and payment amounts. For accounts where direct connections aren't available, Method falls back to credit report data as a reliable baseline.

This two-source model, credit report discovery paired with direct institutional access, means your product gets both breadth (visibility into virtually every liability) and depth (real-time data where it matters most).

## What Method Does

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Discover and connect consumer liabilities at scale" icon="magnifying-glass">
    Method connects to 15,000+ financial institutions, from major banks to regional lenders. When a user links their identity, you gain visibility into their full liability picture — credit cards, auto loans, student loans, mortgages, personal loans, and more.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Keep liability data fresh and normalized" icon="arrows-rotate">
    Liability data arrives from institutions in inconsistent formats and update cycles. Method standardizes balances, due dates, interest rates, payment amounts, and limits into a clean, consistent data model accessible through a single API.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Move money to pay down debts" icon="money-bill-transfer">
    Method enables payments directly to connected liability accounts. Initiate paydowns from a verified funding source while Method handles submission, processing, delivery to the creditor, and confirmation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor changes over time for your users" icon="bell">
    Financial accounts constantly change — balances update, payments post, and accounts open or close. Method's subscription system keeps your application synced with these updates through near-real-time notifications.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Who Method Is Built For

### Commerce

Commerce and card-linked platforms that need to connect to consumers' card accounts for transaction data, card-on-file verification, or payment instrument provisioning to power checkout, rewards, and card-linked offer experiences.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Card Linking & Checkout" icon="credit-card" href="/guides/use-cases/commerce/card-linking-checkout">
    Enrich connected cards with brand art, tokenize credentials for checkout, and build card-on-file experiences.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Expense Tracking & Transactions" icon="receipt" href="/guides/use-cases/commerce/expense-tracking">
    Stream real-time credit card transactions for spend management and card-linked offers.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Lending

Lenders and underwriters that need verified, up-to-date liability data to make credit decisions, calculate debt-to-income ratios, verify existing obligations, and enable debt consolidation through structured plans, lump-sum payments, or automated recurring transfers.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Application & Qualification" icon="clipboard-check" href="/guides/use-cases/lending/application-prefill">
    Pre-fill loan applications with verified liability data and assess risk with credit health attributes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Debt Consolidation" icon="money-bill-transfer" href="/guides/use-cases/lending/debt-consolidation">
    Discover eligible accounts, verify current balances, and disburse funds directly to creditors.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Portfolio Intelligence" icon="chart-line" href="/guides/use-cases/lending/portfolio-monitoring">
    Monitor borrower liability, utilization, and delinquency signals continuously after origination.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

### Personal Finance & Financial Wellness

Personal finance and financial wellness applications that want to give users a comprehensive view of their liabilities alongside their assets, track progress over time, and provide actionable insights about credit health.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Onboarding & Discovery" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/guides/use-cases/pfm/onboarding-discovery">
    Identity verification options, liability discovery via Connect, and vehicle enrichment for auto loans.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Dashboard & Insights" icon="chart-mixed" href="/guides/use-cases/pfm/monitoring-insights">
    Build real-time debt dashboards with account updates, card brand art, credit scores, and financial health attributes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Transactions & Payments" icon="money-bill-transfer" href="/guides/use-cases/pfm/transactions-payments">
    Stream credit card transactions for spend management and initiate bill payments to your users' creditors.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/guides/quickstart">
    Most integrations follow this four-step pattern, though the exact flow may vary depending on your product and use case.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core Concepts" icon="diagram-project" href="/guides/concepts">
    Understand Method's object model and how everything connects.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Opal" icon="window" href="/guides/opal">
    Drop-in embedded UI that handles identity verification, account discovery, and more — get to value in days, not weeks.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Reference" icon="code" href="/reference/introduction">
    Dive into the full API documentation.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>