This information is a brief synopsis of some of the information from the Dwolla website, Dwolla.com.
We hope this information answers some of your questions about the Dwolla Payment Processing service.
Dwolla is a funny name, I’ve never heard of them. Who are they?
Dwolla (dwolla.com) is a Des Moines,
Iowa-based company that is on a mission to radically
change the electronic payments industry. The company was founded in 2008 on the
premise of bypassing credit card Interchange fees (aka: swipe fees) and providing a low-cost payment service to
businesses and consumers. Dwolla has created a proprietary payment network
similar to that of VISA and MasterCard, and Dwolla’s network does not charge a
fee for the transaction like a traditional merchant account does. Instead, the company eliminates credit card
use altogether by linking consumers’ Dwolla accounts with their checking
accounts.
The service may sound similar to PayPal, and in some ways it is, but Dwolla is approaching the concept from a very
different angle. With help from a few
banking and financial institution investors, Dwolla has created a payment
network that eliminates all of the common fees that merchants incur from accepting
card payments.
Additionally, the
company’s network eliminates the common transfer delays and fraud that plagues
similar networks such as the ACH network that most banks utilize. Essentially,
Dwolla is a global system for low-cost, instant cash transfers.
Why Dwolla instead of a “big name” ACH payment
processor?
First, Dwolla allows you,
the client, to initiate ACH payments to Blue Dolphins Aquatics.
Second, Dwolla ACH
transactions are very low! That saves BDA
money which in turn saves you money!
Why not PayPal and/or credit cards?While PayPal and credit cards are much easier for the user, we have to carefully consider how those costs will factor into our fee structure.
Is using Dwolla safe?
Dwolla is helping shape a new payments
infrastructure, as evidenced by FiSync, Dwolla's proprietary real-time solution, and validated by Dwolla's role with the steering committee of the Federal Reserve's
Fastest Payments Task Force.
Dwolla works with top security industry
professionals to build and maintain the platform, and keep your information
secure. Dwolla transactions do not pass sensitive financial information to
recipients, removing significant information security risk.
- The Dwolla platform puts you in
control of your information.
- Transactions do not pass
sensitive financial information to recipients, removing significant information
security risk.
- Dwolla utilizes tokenization
that replaces high-value data in a financial transaction with a time-based,
tokenized message.
- The Dwolla platform and systems
are monitored and undergo routine penetration and intrusion testing to protect
our community.
- Dwolla offers two-factor
authentication, an optional feature that helps safeguard your account at login.
- When you register or log in to
Dwolla, Dwolla confirms your browser is running TLS 1.0 or higher, which
secures the communication from your browser to Dwolla.
- Your data resides on servers
that are protected both physically and electronically.
- The Dwolla platform edge is
equipped with strong cipher suites controlled by Transport Layer Security
(TLS).
- The Dwolla platform stores
sensitive data at rest using strong cryptography provided by the Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES) with 256 bit keys, Galois Counter Mode (GCM) and
ongoing key rotation.
- The Dwolla platform sits behind
layers of controls including firewall and intrusion protection.
I understand Dwolla uses either Instant or Micro Deposit Verification to link my bank account. Is that unusual?
Not at all. Many companies use the same system(s) to verify the ownership of your account when you link to their service.
PayPal, Amazon Payments, Scottrade, Robinhood, Coinbase and many others utilize Instant and Micro Deposit verification methods.
As a matter of fact, if your bank or credit union has an external funds transfer system, it might use Instant Verification as well.
I’m still not comfortable with ACH processing. Is there another way – I don’t write checks?
Let your bank write it for
you! Schedule your payment with your
other bills via online bill pay.
Okay, I'm ready to use Dwolla. Now what?
We have provided detailed directions here: Paying with Dwolla.