Canadian bank connections drop from time to time. Usually your bank has expired the session, tightened its security requirements, or you've changed your online banking password. When that happens, Frank stops receiving new transactions and your balances go stale. This guide covers how to tell what's happened and how to restore the feed.
Signs your feed has dropped
You'll usually see one or more of the following on the Banking page:
The Last Updated timestamp on an account card is several days old
New transactions aren't appearing, even though they've cleared at the bank
A balance hasn't moved in a while, or looks wrong
A warning icon on the bank group, or a notification from Frank that a feed needs attention
Step 1: Check which provider your bank uses
Canadian connections in Frank run through one of two providers, and knowing which one you're on tells you what the reconnection flow will look like.
Plaid covers most Canadian banking connections. You'll recognize the Plaid flow by its own branded login window.
Flinks covers Canadian institutions where Plaid isn't available, typically smaller banks, credit unions, and some business banking portals.
If you're not sure which one you connected with, start the Update Connection step below and see which window opens. You don't need to know in advance.
Step 2: Run Update Connection
This is the fix for the large majority of dropped Canadian feeds:
Go to Banking in the left navigation. https://hellofrank.ai/banking
Find the bank group that has stopped syncing (e.g., RBC, Desjardins).
Click the ⋮ menu in the top-right corner of that bank group.
Select Update Connection.
Log in to your online banking with your current credentials and complete any verification your bank requires.
Allow 10 minutes after that for the feed to catch up. Frank pulls in the transactions that were missed while the connection was down, and the Last updated timestamp refreshes once the sync finishes.
Step 3: Get through the verification step
Most failed reconnections in Canada stall at verification rather than at the password. A few things that help:
Have your phone in hand before you start. Canadian banks commonly send a one-time code by SMS or push a prompt to their mobile app, and the window can time out while you go looking for it.
Use your online banking username and password, not a mobile app PIN or biometric login.
If your bank offers a "remember this device" or "trusted device" option during login, accept it. It reduces how often you'll be asked to verify again.
If you have business banking with a separate portal and separate credentials, use those, not your personal banking login.
Why Canadian connections drop
This is normal behavior for bank feeds and isn't a sign that anything is wrong with your Frank account. The usual causes:
Session expiry: banks periodically require connected apps to re-authenticate.
Password change: if you've updated your online banking password since connecting, the feed will break until you re-authenticate with the new password.
New or changed MFA requirements: when a bank tightens its verification, every connected app has to reconnect.
Account changes at the bank, such as closures, freezes, or moving an account from personal to business, will interrupt the feed. An account converted to business banking generally needs to be reconnected under the business credentials.
Temporary outages: either at your bank or at the provider. These clear on their own, so if a reconnection fails outright, it's worth trying again a few hours later.
Some Canadian banks also list connected third-party apps in their online banking security settings. If yours does, check whether the connection has been revoked there. Revoking access at the bank will stop the feed regardless of what Frank shows.
Before you disconnect anything
Disconnecting an account in Frank permanently deletes its transaction history and any rules tied to it. Reconnecting afterward does not bring that history back. Use Update Connection instead. If that isn't working, contact support before disconnecting so we can look at the connection from our end first.
Still not syncing?
If Update Connection has completed and transactions still aren't coming through after 15 minutes, contact Frank support through the help icon and include:
Your bank or credit union name
The account type (chequing, savings, credit card, business)
When the feed last worked
Any error message you saw in Frank or during the bank login (a screenshot helps)
Whether you've recently changed your banking password or received a security notice from your bank
We can tell from our side whether it's a single broken connection or a wider issue with the provider or that institution.
Summary
When a Canadian feed stops updating, go to Banking → ⋮ menu → Update Connection on the affected bank group and complete your bank's login and verification. Give it 15 minutes to catch up. Avoid disconnecting the account, since that wipes its history, and reach out to support if the reconnection won't hold.