Astra Taps Visa Direct to Offer Faster Payments

Money movement automation platform Astra is using Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time payments service.

The move allows San Francisco-based Astra to offer fast payments “to millions of its end-users who can fund cards, wallets and other accounts with their eligible debit cards,” according to a Tuesday (Aug. 9) press release.

Astra’s payments platform lets developers add transfer functionality to their applications. The platform is integrated through application programming interface (API) and lets builders add payment functionality to applications with no need for additional compliance, capital commitments or operational costs, the release stated.

“The onboarding experience for a new user of a neobanking or marketplace application is critical and only lasts a few moments,” Astra said in the release. “In many cases, funding a new bank account or wallet includes waiting multiple days for an ACH transfer to clear before the associated debit card can be used.”

Astra helps consumers fund a new debit card in real time, transferring money from an existing debit card using Visa Direct, according to the release. The technology lets FinTechs help customers move money faster and with more convenience.

“Every consumer and business knows the value of time to money intimately,” said Astra CEO Gil Akos in the release. “Every FinTech product is faced with the challenge of providing faster account funding options for their users. Through our collaboration with Visa, we can provide fast payments for me-to-me and peer-to-peer transactions.”

Last year, Astra joined forces with core infrastructure financial services firm Cross River Bank. The partnership was designed to give FinTech developers the ability to employ debit card payment rails to fund accounts and facilitate deposits.

Read more: Astra Teams With Cross River to Intro Card-to-Card Instant Payment API

Astra’s first card-to-card instant payment API helps FinTech developers embed card-to-card transfers into their own applications without needing additional infrastructure.