Adding a Bank Account
All Merchants or Referrers processing on the Platform must have at least one U.S. or Canada-based bank account on file. Therefore, new Merchants or Referrers are prompted to enter their bank account during the onboarding process. This document will guide you through the process of adding additional bank accounts for Merchants or Referrers who are already boarded or integrating new bank accounts in the future.
Note: This process and its review period apply to Merchant and Referrer-level users.
Bank Account Types and Requirements
All Merchants or Referrers boarded to the Platform must have an active U.S.-based bank account on file. A bank account serves two purposes for an entity:
Account for Deposits - A required bank account to receive deposits from Available Balance funds.
Account for Debits - A required bank account to be debited to cover negative balances owed.
Merchants or Referrers can use one bank account on file for both payouts and debits, individual bank accounts for deposits and debits, or multiple bank accounts with unique, individual purposes.
Bank Account Validation
As a Payment Facilitator, the Platform validates any bank account submitted by an entity. This validation includes active status, type of account, & ownership and prevents funds from being sent to an incorrect bank account due to a typo or invalid information.
To perform the validation, the Platform uses Plaid to allow Merchants or Referrers to link their bank account(s) for instant validation using a Portal lightbox to securely log in to their bank for integration.
For instances where an entity attempts to manually add new bank information or change existing bank information, follow the Manual Account Validation process below:
Manual Bank Account Validation
If an entity manually submits its bank account, they are required to submit documentation to Platform Risk for account validation.
When entering information in the Portal for a new bank account manually, like account and routing numbers, a file upload window at the bottom of the form requires a document file to be uploaded before the form can be submitted. This can also be achieved using the API using the steps provided below.
Qualifying Bank Account Supporting Documentation is:
A Void Check,
A Bank Letter, or;
A Bank Statement.
For existing bank accounts, supporting documents are only required if the routing or account number fields are being updated. Changes to account types do not require supporting documentation.
When entering information in the Portal for a new bank account manually, like account and routing numbers, a file upload window at the bottom of the form requires a document file to be uploaded before the form can be submitted.
Link a Bank Account with Plaid
With Plaid enabled Merchants or Referrers will be prompted to go through the bank account linking process as they sign up.
Linking a New Bank Account with Plaid
This process will require the Merchant to submit their confidential online banking login and should only be completed by one of the Merchant’s users directly and not by anyone else on the Merchant’s behalf.
How to Manually Add a New Bank Account
If an entity’s bank is not eligible for use with Plaid, or to skip the Plaid process, they can manually add a new bank account.
There are two methods available to add a new bank account manually:
Use the Portal to enter bank account information and upload documentation in the Merchant Profile.
Use the API to enter the information using the
/accounts
endpoint and submit documentation separately.
Manually Add a New Bank Account in the Portal
The Portal uses the Banking tab within the Merchant Profile to update or add new bank account information to a specific Merchant. In instances where an entity’s banking institution does not currently integrate with Plaid, or the Merchant would like to manually add the account, this option is useful.
Manually Add a New Bank Account using the API
Bank accounts can also be manually submitted using the API by sending a POST request to the /accounts
endpoint. In the body of the request, you will include the Entity ID of the Merchant, as well as the data for the below fields.