Dwolla Launches Solution to Facilitate Secure A2A Payments

Dwolla has launched an application programming interface (API) solution designed for mid- to enterprise-sized businesses that enables easy payment initiation from existing commercial accounts at top U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo.

The new Dwolla Connect builds on the success of the company’s digital wallet product, Dwolla Balance, and offers a new solution in the account-to-account (A2A) payment landscape, the payment services provider said in a Tuesday (Aug. 8) press release. With its bank-agnostic approach, businesses can avoid dealing with multiple bank integrations, while also completely simplifying their treasury management.

“Expanding our product offering with Connect is an exciting step forward that showcases our commitment to offering simplified payment solutions tailored to our customers’ needs,” Dwolla Chief Operating Officer and President Dave Glaser said in the release.

Dwolla Connect serves a wide range of industries, such as financial services, lending, banking-as-a-service, marketplaces and insurance, according to the press release.

Over the next 12 months, Dwolla expects to expand banking network coverage, introduce new payment methods, grow value-added services, and further enhance the payment experience for customers, the release said.

Don Parker, executive vice president of FinTech at MX, said in the release: “This new Connect offering — combined with our industry-leading open finance APIs — makes it even easier for businesses to quickly build a seamless payment experience for consumers. We’re excited about our ongoing partnership with Dwolla and the possibilities it brings to our shared clients.”

Jess Turner, executive vice president and global head of open banking and API at Mastercard, said: “Mastercard and Dwolla are partnering to power open banking innovation and offer consumers more choice in how they use and manage their money. By embedding our account validation services offering within the new Dwolla Connect solution, we’re making it easy to facilitate secure account-to-account payments.”

PYMNTS research has found that many consumers like the idea of A2A transfers — which are also known by several other names including pay by bank — as they are driven by payment choice.

Merchants are also supportive of the method because A2A payments use ACH rails and thereby avoid credit card interchange fees, according to “New Payment Options: Building Stronger Customer Ties With Pay By Bank Transfer,” a PYMNTS and Nuvei collaboration.