This guide covers the onboarding layer of a PFM integration: how users get verified, how their liabilities are discovered, how to detect new liabilities over time, and how to enrich auto loan accounts with vehicle details. If you haven’t completed the Getting Started steps (creating and verifying Sarah Chen’s Entity, and running Connect), start there first.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.
Identity Verification with Opal
Opal is Method’s pre-built, white-labeled UI component that handles the entire verification flow — phone verification and identity verification — in a single drop-in experience. It’s the fastest path to getting users verified and is recommended for most integrations.- Opal (Recommended)
- BYO Identity Verification
Opal handles phone verification (SMS or SNA) and identity verification (KBA) in a single embedded flow. Your user completes the process in your app, and you receive a webhook when verification is complete.Advantages:
- Minimal frontend development
- Tested, optimized UX for conversion
- Handles edge cases (retries, fallbacks, error states)
- White-labeled to match your brand
Opal Integration Guide
Full guide for embedding Opal in your application.
Liability Discovery via Connect
Once Sarah is verified, Connect performs a soft-pull credit report to discover her liabilities. The Getting Started guide showed the Connect call that discovered all 6 of her accounts. Here’s what Connect found for Sarah:| Account ID | Creditor | Type | What Your App Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
acc_eKKmrXDpJBKgw | Chase Sapphire Reserve | Credit Card | Card balance, APR, due date |
acc_GV8WbmJW7KGRy | Citi Double Cash | Credit Card | Card balance, APR, due date |
acc_MLPKh9gQDDbT8 | Capital One | Auto Loan | Loan balance, payment schedule |
acc_LbXE8wVYJLrKt | Navient | Student Loan | Loan balance, disbursements |
acc_J3P9fayDFjpAy | SoFi | Personal Loan | Balance, term, rate |
acc_eFFRV9zmpLREK | Wells Fargo | Mortgage | Balance, rate, payoff date |
Connect discovers both open and closed liabilities on the first call. Subsequent Connect calls for the same Entity only return newly opened accounts.
Connect Subscriptions
A user’s liability picture changes over time — they open new credit cards, take out loans, or consolidate debt. Connect subscriptions automatically re-run discovery on a recurring basis and notify you via webhook when new accounts are found. Enroll the Entity in a connect subscription:Vehicle Enrichment
For auto loan accounts like Sarah’s Capital One loan (acc_MLPKh9gQDDbT8), Method can retrieve the associated vehicle details — VIN, year, make, model, and style. This transforms a generic “Auto Loan: $18,450 balance” into “2021 Honda CR-V EX: $18,450 remaining.”
Request vehicle data for Sarah’s Entity:
Vehicles API Reference
Full API documentation for the Vehicles endpoint.
What’s Next
Dashboard & Insights
Pull real-time balances, credit scores, card brand art, and financial health attributes.
Transactions & Payments
Stream credit card transactions and initiate bill payments.