A Guide to Understanding Account to Account Payments
Account-to-account payments are digital (or electronic) transfers between bank accounts through payment rails such as the ACH Network, RTP® Network and Visa Direct. As consumers and companies move toward more efficient and potentially safer ways to transfer funds, these payment methods are positioned as the future of digital payments.
Whether you’re a startup integrating with a payment service provider for the first time or a legacy company undergoing a digital transformation, account-to-account payments will be integral to your business today and well into the future.
Account to Account Payment Methods
Rather than contract with a card processing provider or bank, you can easily integrate the full range of account-to-account payments with Dwolla’s payment solution, giving your business the ability to manage complex payment flows and transaction timing for both accepting and disbursing funds.
ACH
Under the ACH (Automated Clearing House) umbrella, bank-to-bank transfers are processed reliably via the ACH Network. With a standard ACH transaction, after a transfer is initiated, funds can take up to 3–5 days before they are available to the recipient. Faster ACH transfer speeds using Dwolla come in the form of same day ACH and next day ACH, shortening bank transfer timelines to enable a business to credit or debit a payment from a bank account on the same day.
Push-to-Debit
Push-to-Debit brings the speed and convenience of card transactions to business-to-consumer payments. This account-to-account payment method uses the card rails to disburse funds to a debit card attached to a bank account in near real time — 24/7/365.
Real-Time Payments
Real-Time Payments (RTP) with Dwolla are account-to-account transactions that clear and settle instantaneously via the RTP® Network. RTP transactions are final and support extensive remittance data. Knowing the transaction will be final in seconds and will include the data needed to identify and reconcile funds, real-time access to funds can help reduce costly returns associated with other payment methods.
Balance-to-Balance
The Dwolla Balance is a unique feature of the platform that provides wallet-like functionality for businesses and their verified end users. Businesses and their end users are able to hold funds within these balances, giving them quicker access to funds. Funds that are transferred between balances within the Dwolla Network happen instantly. The greater flexibility for more sophisticated funds flows delivers another efficient method to move funds account to account.
