Dwolla: How we’re different (Episode 1)

http://www.facebook.com/nathanr.uni Nathan Robertson

You should post this graphic without and accompanying text.

http://www.facebook.com/william.butterman William T Butterman

why?

Lisa

Of all those middle men, who gets paid to do what and who do you have to put out of business?

http://www.facebook.com/pottedmeat Neil Roberts

Color coding would help me understand the players. I think “YOUR CARD IS USED” and “CARD NETWORK” would be the same company. And I think “CARD READER”, “SOFTWARE PORTAL”, “PAYMENT GATEWAY”, and “PAYMENT PROCESSOR” are the same company. And I’m not sure if “SETTLEMENT” is a company.

http://twitter.com/LETSG0WVU Drew

Many of those items you refer to are in fact different entities. The general card swiping public has no idea how many hands their payment information passes through before it’s actually processed and settled.
- http://www.facebook.com/pottedmeat Neil Roberts
  
  And I still have no idea how many hands my payment information passes through before it’s actually processed and settled. But I am certain that there is some overlap between these ambiguously separated icons.
  - JoyZ
    
    What currencies r Processed through dwolla?

http://twitter.com/vonhammel Christian von Hammel

if you want to make the first look more complex than it is fine, but then you should make yours on the same level of details …

http://twitter.com/ejboyl Ed Boyle

CvH: that graphic is accurate…although might be more consistent to call settlement “Clearinghouse Bank”. Believe it or not, each of those boxes reps a different company on all MC/VISA tranx.
- Charlie
  
  Or, show what the Dwolla user *does* too! There’s no analog to the credit-card swipe shown in the Dwolla graphic. Yet obviously the customer does something. And it sounds like one reason Dwolla is more secure is, it’s more complex – the user enters a password and then a pin (as I glean it from other slides).
http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Thanks for the feedback, Christian! With the infographic, we were showing consumers the complexities of the traditional systems that no one ever really thinks about, unless you are a merchant and feeling the pain with some of those fees. At Dwolla, we’ve found a way to consolidate many of the processes involved in moving money into our own system in order to cut out some of those pain points, as well as the fees that come with them. We are always open for suggestions though, especially on what we can do better If you have some recommendations for information you’d like to see in our future infographics, we’d love to see them! Just send an email to [email protected].

http://twitter.com/LETSG0WVU Drew

I’m hoping this gains traction and becomes a viable PayPal contender. I’ll take $0.25 over 14.5% (eBay+PayPal fees) any day of the week.

The top graphic is actually fairly accurate as I was in the payment operations world for almost 3 years. As for the Dwolla network, I’m sure it’s a lot simpler but there’s also a good bit more going on than those 3 steps…

johnny

it will never become a contender to paypal because paypal allows you to pay by credit card and it took credit card companies more than a decade and billions of dollars in advertising to replace cash as the leading payment method for consumers. Dwolla is nothing more than a niche payment solution. You need to make your customers use it otherwise they will not because they will not know what it is. But luckily there’s a market for this and the 25 cent transaction cost is enough motivator for some to give it a try.

Mark E Molloy

Clicking Like button yields…
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Brian H

No it doesn’t.

Bobknows31

The top def looks exaggerated, for example, “the card is used” and “software portal” step seems like a stretch.

Bobknows31

Hmm, I realized that made me sound like a troll. I believe in what y’all are doing – I’d just like to see you folks not try to spin things in your favor.
- http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones
  
  Thanks Bob We were just trying to show how we’ve consolidated a lot of the processes of moving money into our system so that we could eliminate the fees and pain points of the traditional system. If you have suggestions on what you’d like to see as we create future infographics, we’d love to hear them! If you’d like, just send an email to [email protected] so that we can easily locate and share them.

http://brucewagner.com Bruce Wagner

How about a graphic representing the Bitcoin Network….?

YOU HIM

Jeremy

Really its YOU -> Dwolla/Paypal/Money Bookers -> Your Bitcoin -> His Bitcoin -> Dwolla/Paypal/Money Bookers -> HIM
- http://www.facebook.com/justin.wilson.731 Justin Wilson
  
  Not to those of us who actually USE Bitcoin. =)
Jagfug69

bitinstant your best bet at this time

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=594317964 Rich Calligan

The real problem I see is that Dwolla is slower than a traditional check. I understand that in many cases a check won’t work and this will be better. However, for example, my tenant wants to pay his rent this way and it will be 3-5 days to load his Dwolla account with the rent money from his bank and another 3-5 days for me to get the money from Dwolla to my bank! This is a 6-10 day delay before funds are available. With a check, funds are available the next business day. I really hope you guys can speed things up.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Thanks for the comments Rich, as you can see with FiSync, we are working really hard to create solutions for those inconvenient delays!
- http://www.facebook.com/Angkoljay King José
  
  Still ACH — every money movement is US is all ACH with NACHA to settle.. no way around the delay.

http://orthodoxdaily.com Zacchaeus Nifong

Seriously? I expected a little more class from Dwolla. Geez guys. You really stretched out your competitors but not your own. It’s obviously incorrect.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Hi Zacchaeus – what you see above with the traditional payments is a visualization of what using your card for a purchase looks like. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes after you swipe it. The infographic is to help depict what we’ve done at Dwolla, by consolidating a lot of the processes involved in moving money into our own system.

Solitus

Good start. Graphic does not need greyed background. Increases costs for distribution via paper, it’s distracting and makes the whole thing look dull. This is definitely not a dull subject.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Thanks for the feedback Solitus, duly noted! We appreciate the support!

Tyrepros

Love the idea, Hate the cards, but the real question is: How can I use this in my business TODAY and begin taking it as a form of payment to help me run my business now?

Kyle Platt

sign up and post a qr code on your counter

Jill

As a merchant and a consumer I definately understand this graphic. I love where this is headed!!!

http://twitter.com/BigDreams_Com Loren Stocker

Good start. I suggest you add the “cuts” taken at each step to show why it costs 2-3% to process each transaction.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Great idea Loren!

http://steamcatapult.com/ Dave Pinsen

It makes a very complex thing, ~~more simple~~ simpler than it is right now.

Tangoany1

How about less complicated or maybe simplified would be good also.

Owen Johnson

it is fairly accurate. all of the pieces in the top part are potentially from different vendors. For example, a softpay card reader, an NCR pos, an in house accounting system, the gateway and payment processor might be one step but then it goes to visa or discover before it gets settled with your bank later.

Sales

Can I use DWOLLA to pay bills?

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

You can use Dwolla with any merchant/service that accepts Dwolla payments. If you’d like to pay with Dwolla, suggest it to the company that you are paying! We’d love to talk with them

forexsignalsguru

Very good concept but I think the credit card system works because it has a layer of protection from scams and thieves.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Dwolla actually has more in place to protect against fraud than most credit cards. We don’t require you to input a 16 digit number and security code that holds your personal financial information into every website that you do business with, nor do we require you to scan a card that can lead to your personal information being compromised at the POS. We work with our security partners to make sure that all the information that you input into our system is properly protected, encrypted, and safeguarded, and that you don’t have to share any of that private information with anyone that you do business with.
- Jenni Pertuset
  
  I ask that all my clients pay me via Dwolla. Even with the significant delays it’s more convenient *for me* than receiving checks. But there’s one delay that’s harder to bear and that’s the process of new clients getting their accounts set up. Every single one has run into challenges or problems or confusion. Regarding security and privacy:the most recent issue is that one client is reluctant to give Dwolla her SSN. Why is this necessary?
  - Veronica
    
    HUMMMM… I notice that the question concerning why a clients SSN is necessary has been left unanswered by Dwolla.. why is that Dwolla.? I’d also like to know the reason why you require my SSN,?
    - http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones
      
      SSN’s are required because moving money is serious business, and we take our business and our customer’s security seriously. The banking and financial industry is a heavily regulated industry, and we abide by the laws while revolutionizing some of the antiquated technology within the space.
    - Guest
      
      Your SSN is not needed. I work for a bank and understand how serious money laundering and fraud is, but never are SSN needed for transactions. If someone was able to hack into your system and steal all of the SSN’s, all of those people would be in trouble, and you would be the one to blame.
    - Mark
      
      Only needed if $10,000 or larger transaction. I don’t expect to buy a car with Dwolla anytime soon. If I have to give you my SSN to purchase an iPad then I think I will just say no and get it Walmart.
  - Mark
    
    Why would your clients SSN be needed? This number is for tax purposes only not an identifier. Is this is true then Dwolla is crap. A merchants tax identification may be needed but never a consumer SSN.

http://profile.yahoo.com/XYP3FD5HYICBLJY76CAFXU53SY Ames

While I like the depiction, it’ not an apples to apples. If it’s fair to show the more moving pieces from a card transaction, should it show all the steps I take when I send someone money on Dwolla as well? Before I “Send Money” (I’ve only used with my iPhone) I have a few more steps than when I use my Credit Card and my friend has to go set up an account as well. I like Dwolla when I can use it, but the process is so long that I usually end up just buying coffee or lunch to pay someone back lately.

I do look forward to learning more, but it’s just not that simple as on the graphics.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Hi Ames, thanks for the feedback! The graphic is to show all the moving parts of a card transaction, as well as all the entities that are involved in settling a transaction. We’ve found a way to combine a lot of those moving pieces into one technology, Dwolla. That’s part of the reason that we are able to keep our costs so low.

http://twitter.com/teamlantern Lantern

Yeah, but what about all the “value” each of those 7 pieces in the middle are adding? Haha. What a joke.

Oisin

Hi, does my smartphone need to connect to the internet for the transaction to take place or is it enough for the retailer’s device to be connected ? Just wondering how this works in an area with poor 3G/data coverage ?

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Hi there Oisin-
Whether it’s on your computer via Dwolla.com, or on your phone via the Dwolla mobile app, you’ll need to have access to the internet in order to move money.
Mike T

Oconnor?

Dougison

Looks great to me… as for all those comments you can please all the people all the time and it’s just like the bumm everyone’s got one.

Dougison

Ooops… you cannot please all the people all the time.. (sorry)

http://RogerEllman.com/ Roger Ellman

Looks very good.

A guess: one day you might ease the banks out of the network, not because of any well or misguided ideal but because you may have ways designed by you, of increasing total efficiencies further.

Your thoughts on this?
Roger

John Barton

My thought is that greater competition should lead to a situation where “money” transfer between individuals and businesses is INSTANT and at the lowest possible price. I pay people all over the world and frankly the cost of moving money around is hideous. And on top of it the headache is horrendous. I actually have several bank accounts set up just so I can deposit money into them for my employees in other countries to use a debit card to withdraw money from atms because that is the cheapest way to get money to them. It’s nuts on top of nuts on top of nuts. Western Union and Money Gram are huge ripoffs as well as being cumbersome. We probably spend 3 hours a week moving money around and it’s frankly a crappy and expensive chore.
- http://RogerEllman.com/ Roger Ellman
  
  Agreed, about costs and lunatic complexity. I have had and empathize with your experiences.
  I believe greater competition – if it is real competition (meaning not sanctioned, nor barred by government meddling, which usually leads to regulated almost-competition) – can improve this and many other absurdly cumbersome manoeuvres in business transactions.
  Bring in the new.

http://www.facebook.com/alexanderhrobertson Alex Robertson

Hi,
Not sure what happened to my last post… I love the picture and agree the process should be greatly simplified. But, still, why does it take 5 business days to load up my Dwolla account? This should be a simple next day ACH? Right?
Alex

Dana James

Banks won’t make funds available next day even though they receive the funds. Traditionally a 2-day hold on ACH provides a 3 day delay to consumers. No viable reason either the bank or payment processors should delay it any longer.
- bpmilne
  
  Dana – Unfortunately due to variations in processing there is a viable reason at times to go even longer. It stinks but it’s just something that is tough to do with, with ACH. Real-time is a good thing!
- Tanya
  
  I work at a bank and there is not a 2-day hold on a ACH.
  - amp-up
    
    If that’s true, you work for a very unusual bank. Many banks tell merchants that there is no hold on an ACH transaction. That is true ONLY because many Card processors advance the funds to the merchant – while the bank is holding the cash. If you’re a merchant with a card account you might remember “applying” for the right to accept cards. That’s because the processing company is loaning you money for 2-5 days. This leaves the processing company exposed to massive fraud.
- ACH dude
  
  I write software for ACH transaction processing (but not for a bank). The transactions are primarily file based, with each file containing multiple batches. Each batch contains a settlement date so a batch can settle immediately or in a few days depending on this date. Settlement may or may not be delayed by weekends or holidays depending on the bank of the organization or individual that initiates the transaction (the ODFI).
  
  For example, if I enter a payment into my electric utility’s web site, at some point in this or the following business day they will send my transaction to their bank (ODFI). My transaction will be with a batch of similar transactions that have a settlement date. When that settlement date comes, the transaction will be passed into the ACH network which then sends a debit to the checking account at my bank (the “RDFI” receiving depository financial institution).
  
  My bank will process that debit and send the result (either send money or some error code) back to the ODFI. Depending on the way the process is configured between the ODFI and my electric company, the ODFI may send a result back to the electric company, which may in turn send a notification to me.
  
  The timing for all this is highly dependent on the way the processes, including the settlement date, are configured between each party.
  - CaityJones
    
    Thanks ACH dude, great in-depth explanation at how the ACH system works.
http://www.facebook.com/Angkoljay King José

LOL … disbursement & settlement between banks in the US is always ACH… delay in settlement takes 2 to 5 business days or more if the bank is closed during holidays. Even Paypal is using ACH in US and EFT in Canada, to withdraw money into your bank in the US is 3 business days, in Canada 5 days or more…

Dylan Kearns

I’m not concerned about saving interchange or processing fees for merchants. I use credit cards that give me 5% back, earn me miles, or rewards. If I use Dwolla, I lose these benefits, and loyalty points into that too.

http://twitter.com/IowaComputerDoc Ed Snuffin

Yes, you would lose those rewards, Dylan. While as a consumer, you may not initially care, it will eventually affect you. Your rewards come right out of the pockets of the merchants you purchase from, NOT from the cards you use. The big financial companies ALWAYS get their money. As a small business, I get socked for pretty big fees for those rewards you enjoy. Makes it not worth even accepting credit cards for some customers. My choice as a business is to either raise prices, not accept credit cards, or make less money for our services than we already do. We’re already investigating the implications of raising our prices along with offering a discount for invoices paid with cash.
- John Barton
  
  Exactly, the 5% incentives are such a farce. The consumer pays for them whether he knows it or not. Lots of people offer a cash price and I see offering a Dwolla price as well.

Dylan Kearns

And this is a similar model to PayPal. Using ACH to get around the interchange. The only benefits go to the MERCHANT, not the CONSUMER. And please don’t tell me that lower interchange and processing fees will lower prices. No way you can scale enough to affect inflation, or deflation for that matter

bpmilne

Dylan – Security is absolutely a consumer benefit. What I think you’ll end up seeing is platforms taking the new savings and passing it to the consumer in the forms of incentives.
John Barton

I would IMMEDIATELY lower prices to my customers if they pay using Dwolla. I’d much rather give the $20 or free or reduced shipping to the customer than to paypal or visa/mc.

http://www.facebook.com/yosefshuman Yosef Shuman

Just throwing another vote on top of the heap:

While I love what Dwolla is doing, this infographics still feels misleading. Sure Dwolla may be able to internalize and “consolidate” this process slightly, but that’s basically already happening within banks. I too would like to see the breakdown of delays and fees along the path, both in the current journey, and through Dwolla.

Also, I’d love to see a response to Bruce Wagner’s request for a comparison to Bitcoin (or any other p2p digital currencies)

To be fair, most of the people who are at this blog are already Dwolla supporters… We don’t want whitewashed fluff, we want great data so we can be advocates for you.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Thanks Yosef, I’d love to see more infographics and data helping explain our system as well. As we continue to hire more people, we’ll be able to pump out a lot of great educational material that we’ve been working on a faster rate.

http://twitter.com/IowaComputerDoc Ed Snuffin

I’m intrigued, but a bit nervous about a new player in the money stream between my bank, my customers, and I. I’ve heard of Dwolla, but never took the time to check it out until Veridian CU added the links to their new (finally) online banking system (that’s how I got here).

My first reaction to your graphic was the same as many others: I came away thinking that your process graphic was deliberately oversimplified and the alternative was deliberately over-complicated. This makes me more nervous than reassured, because it makes the whole thing feel, well… “flim-flam-y” (?). (Ever get the feeling that someone can’t be trusted because they’re just trying too hard, or making the story bigger than it really is?) Maybe you could add a “taking credit card out of wallet” or “putting credit card back in wallet” step to your graphic (sorry, couldn’t resist my snarky nature)…

Seriously though, not a terribly big deal, until I read the comments/replies and learned that your responses to people’s concerns sound like a lot of excuse-making and “handling” of people’s objections, rather than a legitimate explanation of the process. I also discovered that I may have a loooooong wait before money paid actually hits my account – info that doesn’t seem to be provided up front.

As a potential personal user as well as owner of a service business with both a brick-and-mortar presence as well as mobile technicians, my first look here was not reassuring enough to encourage me to sign up, in fact it had exactly the opposite effect. I work with dozens of small businesses as customers and I can’t imagine they would come away with a much different impression. Perhaps a little less politically-correct, PR-trained “handling” of comments and a little legitimate transparency might go a long way. Nobody likes to be “handled”. Bottom line: fix the damn graphics so you can spend your time educating potential customers on what you do better, instead of making excuses for a little picture than seems dis-ingenuous. Just a thought…

BTW… If I didn’t think you guys were on to something good with your service, I would have just “x”d out of the web page and never bothered to check back or invest the time to comment, so don’t just feel kicked in the shins, please take the comments to heart as from the perspective of a small business owner that deals with a lot of other small business owners.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Thanks for the genuine reaction. Perhaps seeing how FiSync works live will do more for you than my response. http://www.finovate.com/spring12vid/dwolla.html

Ace4love

OK… 1. Not accepted by Ebay 2. long transaction time … Let’s face it, Ebay and PayPal have outlasted every attempt to have a viable alternative; at least, in the U.S. for online auction solutions. Even if other online auction services accepted Dwolla as a payment method, the wait time for funds would turn me away.

Saurabh

Is there a way to accept payments through Dwolla instead of using the pricy Paypal solution for ebay transactions?

Support

Ian here from Dwolla. There is a way to do this with the Magento plug-in
http://blog.dwolla.com/dwolla-for-magento-now-online/ but shoot us an email at [email protected] and we can talk in more detail about it!

Snowboarder

Are the movement of funds realtime? That is, if I pay the merchant, how does the merchant know immediately that he/she got the funds and I can walk out with the goods? Also, what am I actually using to make my payment (your phone, is not a good answer).

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Dwolla to Dwolla transfers are instantaneous. If a bank has FiSync enabled, bank account to Dwolla account transfers are instantaneous. Therefore, if I pay a merchant with funds from my Dwolla balance or from my FiSync enabled bank account, they see those funds arrive in their Dwolla account in real-time. But here’s a visual example of making a purchase in store: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1RK6CctcXU. If you do not have a FiSync’d bank account, you use the ACH system to deposit money into the Dwolla account, and our API to send it to the merchant. If you have a FiSync account, you use the FiSync API that we built to send to the merchant. You can move funds with the ACH system and/or the APIs through the mobile app or via the online Dwolla platform.
- http://www.facebook.com/Angkoljay King José
  
  LOL… payment and settlement are two different process. You can have real-time payment push from a eWallet account or debit where amount is deducted instantly… but to settle and received that payment into your merchant or personal account will go through ACH… unless your account is in the same Dwolla bank, they can fast track the transfer.

Mommadoright

wow..after reading about 3 comments I lost interest totally…bye

http://www.photovideocompetitions.com/ Photo Video Art

I am going to cancel my Paypal account. Do you think Dwolla is the best alternative for Canadian merchants and individual customers.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Right now Dwolla is only available in the U.S. However, we’d love to expand internationally as soon as we have a team large enought to support it

Aylon Eran

Hi,
Do you have an api for the following cases:
1. Sending money from one friend to another.
2. Deffer payments
3. Preapproval for charging a client
Thank you

CaityJones

Aylon –

In the last couple of months we’ve come out with some great tools on the development side. We have API documentation here: http://developers.dwolla.com/dev and a Developer Help Forum here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/dwolla. You can also email [email protected] if you have questions that are left unanswered.

http://www.1000directory.com/ Dirudir

I might be interested in this gateway. Is there trial available? Thank you

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Dwolla has been up and running since 2010, and FiSync went live in May of this year. All of it is free, feel free to set up an account!

Martin €

Wow Americas bank card, check system and wires are super slow. with Dwolla minimal 5-6 days until u see any of your actual money. Here in NE Europe it would be the next day 9 am and if its within business hours then by 5pm same day. Here is also an actual mobile payment system that u can just sms or call nr and enter pin and paid. Good luck on innovating the financial system there. Well the market is big.

Jan Krabbenbos

Is this U.S. only or are international payments also possible?

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Right now Dwolla is U.S. only. Looking to expand in the future.

DrInternational

Is it international?

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Right now Dwolla is U.S. only.

Guest

Whats funny is the first graph happens twice in the second graph… between your bank and dwolla’s funding system, and then from dwolla to the receivers bank!

http://www.facebook.com/charlie.gilichibi Charlie Gilichibi

This is the greatest business model (technology stack) disruptive innovation model. It surely has the grunt to knock off credit card companies and banks. Surely it will usurp them. It is a matter of when.

Wil Bremers

Sorry, but I do not see what the difference is with Paypal.

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

We have built an API to replace ACH. PayPal uses ACH. We also have many different features, and we charge 25 cents on transaction over $10, while under $10 transactions are free. PayPal fee structures are a bit higher.
- Wil Bremers
  
  From a customers point of view I do not see any advantage over Paypal. So If a seller gives me the choice between paying via Paypal or Dwolla I would choose Paypal for certain as I do not know Dwolla. So for me as seller this would be bad for my conversion.
  - http://twitter.com/TelesisDA Quint Rahaman
    
    A possibility… show the transaction cost difference and reduce the client’s cost by some percentage if they choose to use Dwolla.
  - John Barton
    
    Here is the difference from a customer perspective – which may or may not be offered. Lower prices. Paypal for example charges the receiver 3.5% plus .30cts to get money. Many merchants have this fee built in and some outright say that using PP is plus fees. (legal or not they still do it.) With Dwolla the fee on a $1000 transaction is .25cts, with paypal it’s $35.30. Now lets say that you give money to a friend for a car, 1000. He gets 970. He turns around and spends that 970 on a stereo from another friend in your circle, that friend gets 930 of that 970. Now you have an emergency and you ask the third friend to lend you a grand but he says I only have $930 and sends it to you. You get $898 from that grand you sent to your first friend the day before. Paypal now owns $100 of it. With Dwolla the total cost to all of you combined would have been $1 and you would get back $999 from your $1000.
    
    In ten transactions PP would have reduced that $1000 by more than 25% down to $723 and in 20 transactions it would be $502. And in 134 transactions the entire $1000 will belong to Paypal.
    
    In contrast you absolutely cannot spend more than $33 to spend that $1000 with Dwolla. So what this means for users is that more money stays in play for users of Dwolla to spend on goods and services. A LOT MORE.
    
    I use Paypal a lot to receive money and to spend money. As a consumer there is no fee to me except when a merchant explicitly charges extra and tells me up front. As a seller I am dinged a LOT for the fees and I have to build that cost into my prices. Instead of charging my customer $30 on a $1000 sales I’d rather be able to pass the savings on to them because that makes me more competitive.
    
    In poker the amount that the house takes from each pot (each hand played) is called the rake. A poker player has to beat the rake because if they simply stay fairly even throughout the night the rake is still taking money off the table from everyone. Imagine if you sat down to play poker and the total money put in was $1000 and by the end of 134 hands no one had any money left and the house had it all by taking a small percentage from each hand pot played. No player would stand for that and you shouldn’t either.
    
    This is in fact a major game changer in my opinion. I imagine and hope that as they acquire users then they can add services like visa/mc debit cards for instant withdrawal and general use. I’d like to see them do things like add instant funding via credit cards like PP and also instant funding via ACH like PP (which they may already have)
    
    I plan to promote Dwolla to everyone I can. From a merchant’s standpoint this is a great change. Even with having to wait 2-4 days for money to go from Dwolla to my bank it’s still fine. That’s the same with PP as well. And Dwolla says that many banks are now set up to transfer instantly.
    
    I have high hopes for this service. We need a decent PP alternative in the market.
    - CaityJones
      
      Thanks for sharing this, John. Awesome post.
- johnny
  
  you’re being deceitful again. FiSync, which I’m assuming is the API you’ve built to “replace” ACH (keep dreaming), has not yet been incorporate into the financial institution you need to move money to and from so why would you use it as a way to make yourself out to be better than paypal when you , like Paypal, need ACH?? This is why so many people are leaving negative comments, because they don’t like being mislead.

Wil Bremers

Last reply is from 1 month ago! Are you broke?

http://twitter.com/CaityLJones Caitlin Jones

Not broke, just very very busy Thanks for taking time to reach out!

FREWE

Why don’t you:
A. Assume we are adults who understand the big scary internets and money and stuff

B. Actually tell us how your crap works.

If you go to so much trouble to hide the way your service works, then I immediately smell SCAMMER!

CaityJones

Hi FREWE – this is just an overview of how our service works. There is a lot of information on our site that you can read if you would like to get a great, in-depth look at all of our products.

As for how a transaction works via Dwolla – a user registers for a Dwolla account, connects their bank account, and they can send money to anyone with an internet connection, be that a Dwolla merchant, an email address, a phone number, etc. If there are any specific topics or questions that you have, we’d like to help you find an answer to them. You can contact us at [email protected].

Joan Faith

Is dwolla available in the philippines now? i am an online assistant and my client is from USA. can he send money through dwolla to my bank account or paypal??

CaityJones

Currently Dwolla is only operating in the US and focused on the US market. We are very excited about expanding internationally in the future.

DSchneider

I, for one, could care less about the correctness of any graphic. However you wish to depict the fact that current transactions are much more expensive than Dwolla’s fixed fee approach is fine with me.

What does concern me at the moment though is the length of time it takes for money to be transferred. I need to learn more about your service, but I applaud the work done thus far in trying to create an alternative payment method at much more reasonable pricing. This is not as meaningful to folks that only pay for things via a credit card, but once you enable international transactions, you will find many more customers as any current money transfer is incredibly expensive.

CaityJones

Thanks for commenting, DSchneider. Currently most customers move money in and out of the Dwolla system to and from their bank accounts through the ACH system. This can cause some annoying delays during the settlement period and especially if banking holidays get in the way. This is why we have built FiSync, and are working diligently at getting this service integrated into as many financial institutions as possible.
- johnny
  
  FiSync + bank = less money for bank. Why on earth would a bank want to use FiSync? There’s a reason the standard transaction fee is 2.9% + 30 cents. They are not going to give that up. In fact, they make just be working on an effort to stop you from even trying. They have unlimited resources? What do you have?

Todd

Interesting string of comments. I think Dwolla has something going but their task to get the FiSync to the banking network will take a long time. Yes, their graphic example above is not a true reflection and it has many overlapping steps of the traditional card network process and ach. They try to combine both Point of Sale and Web Based Processing to complicate it even more. I have been in the payment industry for over 13 years and know it well for both ach and credit card processing. It all depends what the customers needs are. If they are a basic retail shop with a credit card terminal than Dwolla’s graphic could eliminate the bank graphic in the beginning
(that’s a goofy graphic to show for every credit card transaction), the software portal and the payment gateway. Of course, Dwolla needs to add their settlement process unless you have their FiSync, which is not what this graphic example demonstrates. Dwolla should also show the process it takes for the customer to obtain their Dwolla credentials and the login process, which is similar to Pay Pal. None the less, they have a good idea and have a long ways to go but they could stand to be more honest with their examples. Of course, they are in the business of making money and as little as they charge they need a hand up by being deceitful. Helps to sell more for sure.

CaityJones

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback Todd, and we appreciate the suggestions. The graphic was to demonstrate some of the steps involved in a credit card transaction that many people aren’t aware of, and how Dwolla’s system can consolidate some of those steps. We do not mean to be deceitful, we only mean to educate, and as our employee and design resources increase we would love to delve into some of these core operations in more detail.

Noah H

Yes, it is effective. BUT…
It takes almost 2 weeks from the time I transfer money from my bank to DWOLLA until the recipient gets the money ito his bank !!!!!
Oh, you want it quicker! Pay more, and not per transaction – Monthly.

CaityJones

Some of the wait times that come from ACH and bank holidays add to annoying delays with transactions to and from bank accounts. We’re working on getting FiSync integrated into as many financial institutions as possible in order to bypass the ACH system entirely.

http://www.facebook.com/Angkoljay King José

No matter how you slice it.. at the end of the day, if you are moving money bank to bank interstate or cross state border in the US, it is still using ACH with NACHA that controls all money movement the US country wide. The picture showed it very simple hiding what’s going on behind. It won’t get cooperation with large top 10 or top 25 banks as they are there to protect their high rate fees. It started with small bank and credit unions — as these small banks need to increase their business..

http://www.facebook.com/Angkoljay King José

How many banks and big banks support Dwolla now? is BOA on board?

CaityJones

Dwolla can work with any financial institution in sending and receiving funds. If you are referencing our FiSync product, we are currently live at Veridian Credit Union. We are working on some great stuff right now in regards to partnerships, and we’ll be releasing that news as new integrations roll out.

http://www.facebook.com/Angkoljay King José

How many US states are covered by Dwolla, in US there are 48 MSB licensing states to accept and move money? Is Dwolla active in all US states?

CaityJones

Thanks for asking – Dwolla is present in all 50 states in the U.S.

Josh Purler

I work at a credit union and am trying to convince our accounting department to adopt Dwolla. Can you explain how your network works and if our credit union is responsible for any of the risk involved with the ACH transfers of funds? Thanks

CaityJones

Josh, thank you for advocating for us at your credit union! We have a few members on our team that work specifically in bank partnerships and FiSync. If you could email [email protected] we’ll get you partnered with someone that would then lead these exciting discussions with you and your credit union team.

Modis

Who cares about what happens behind the scenes? Obviously, Dwolla has to use other networks (like the ACH network) to make the transfer. It isn’t as simple as it looks.

CaityJones

You’re right, Dwolla does use the ACH network to move money in between our service and the bank. However, this is exactly the reason that we’ve built FiSync, which we are working on getting into as many financial institutions as possible in order to eliminate the need for ACH, as well as the wait time.
- johnny
  
  Seriously? And what makes you think institutions will go for your FiSync solution when ACH is synonymous with banking already?? Like who are you.

S. Schuster

ridiculously simplified … no encryption, authorizition procedures and flows included ?

CaityJones

What you see in regards to the traditional payments is a visualization of what using your card for a purchase looks like. The infographic is to help depict what we’ve done at Dwolla, by consolidating a lot of the processes involved in moving money into our own system.

james

dwolla:
1. create an account/set up
2. integrate api
3. customer’s bank
4. dwolla
5. reciever bank

stripe.com:
1. create an account/set up

2. integrate api
3. customer’s car
4. stripe
5. reciever’s bank

One require’s the user to be set up with dwolla, the other requires the user to have a credit card. Both have PCI Compliant solutions. I choose stripe.

james

Though I will say one thing that has me leaning in your direction, fraud. Hmmm…I may rethink that.
- CaityJones
  
  James – if you are interested in setting up a Dwolla account or working on a Dwolla integration, we’d be happy to help. I can get you in touch with a developer or compliance if you have any questions.

Shodo

Can I use Dwolla to receive donations for a project. (Would be nonprofit but not set up yet.)

CaityJones

Definitely!

Kawika

I just found out from PayPal that as of APRIL 2012, they say due to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), they are required to gather more information. I checked it out. They are over-reacting. The law specifically says established customers are not included.

When challenged, a supervisor said that starting soon (2013-14) the IRS will require a full reporting of all activity. Right now only 200 transactions AND $20K/year generates some report.

But there is no law—-they are just working on it. Like they have for 10 years or more.

How is your system dealing with the BSA and reporting “requirements”.?

How will your system connect with on-line services such as Ebay?

CaityJones

Dwolla is required to collect information for our financial partners, to identify customers, prevent terrorism funding, and fight fraud. Dwolla continues to research and explore potential partnerships with merchants of every size, from your neighborhood coffee shop, to the big box stores.

ash

Is Dwolla US only or Can i use it oover in the UK?

CaityJones

We are currently only in the U.S. We’d like to expand internationally, however we need to focus on building out our team and product first so that we can do it right!

Cheap man

If i owe someone $15 and i’m cheap, shouldn’t i just do 2 transactions under $10 each and pay no fees?

CaityJones

You can do that if you’d like to.

Ed W

Traditional: Fedwire credit to one account, Fedwire credit plus a file of check data that results in credits to many accounts, Fedwire credit plus CHIPS data for multiple credits, in-house file of credits representing branch deposits, etc. Fedwire direct payments are posted realtime intraday. The rest are batch processes and the credits are generally posted overnight for retail. A Saturday payment to one’s account is processed Monday evening and available Tuesday.

Dwolla: So please explain how a realtime credit is received by a bank and credited to my account. In particular, explain how funds are debited and credited on a Saturday morning, realtime? The payor’s account is debited by … at this time… and the credit is delivered by doing… at this time…

CaityJones

The graphic was created with the general consumer in mind. It seems that you have advanced knowledge of the Fedwire, would you mind emailing me so that I can connect you with a team member that can answer your questions with more accuracy than myself? [email protected] attn: Caitlin

http://webdesy.com/ Kenneth von Rauch

Thanks for the post. It’s really interesting how you put it but I tried to create an account and it looks that it works for US citizens only. Is that the case?

CaityJones

Thanks for response Kenneth – right now we are only available in the U.S. We do look forward to international expansion in the future!
- http://webdesy.com/ Kenneth von Rauch
  
  Thanks for clarifying that.

Desaraev

Where is your list of supported banks?

CaityJones

We’ll be sure to let our users know when banks roll out with FiSync – right now Veridian Credit Union is our only FiSync enabled financial institution.

Desaraev

Has dwolla ever been hacked?

CaityJones

Nope – we take pride in our security partners and the measures they take to keep everything safe and secure.

http://www.facebook.com/davidjustinlynch David Justin Lynch

Assuming the recipient of my payments has a Dwolla account, how long does it take from the time I input the payment to the time recipient gets it?

CaityJones

Dwolla to Dwolla is instant. Bank to Dwolla, or Dwolla to bank is 2-4 business days via the ACH system. If the bank is FiSync-enabled (http://blog.dwolla.com/ach-goes-real-time-with-fisync-free-for-banks-and-credit-unions/), that waiting period goes away and the transaction between financial institution and Dwolla is instant.

http://www.facebook.com/davidjustinlynch David Justin Lynch

Why can’t I have more than two bank accounts? I deal with multiple institutions and accounts.

CaityJones

Thanks for reaching out, David. It’s a system requirement right now (to have under two bank accounts attached). However, we are always looking to innovate the platform in a way that best services our customers, and adding more than two bank accounts is definitely something that we’re looking into.

yagnuf

I have to agree with some of the others about making it look too simple. I understand the reason and you’re probably asking yourselves “what do these people want?” We’ve made it as simple as we can. Also, whenever anyone solicits my SSN I get my back up immediately. That’s a no-no. It even says so on the card “Not to be used for Identification Purposes”. So by who’s authority or what legal entity do you have the right to ask for it? When I called your customer service number their attitude was just take or leave it. Perhaps when you’re explaining things it would help to provide a more robust explanation and VALID reason for requireing a person’s SSN. Also, there should be some alternative method for you to verify a person’s ID. After all you went on to make me provide a copy of my government issued photo ID. Why do you need so much personal information? Identity theft is a very real problem and your just adding to the possibilities of a breach.

CaityJones

Hi yagnuf –

Thanks for reaching out. Because we work with financial institutions, we must abide by stricter kyc (know your customer) requirements than other companies out there. Of course, we’re always looking for ways to improve this experience, and we have a few things on our roadmap to make this process less painful. if you have any questions or would like to give us suggestions as to how your experience could have gone more smoothly, our compliance team would like to hear from you! Simply email [email protected] and we’ll get you in touch with the right folks.

jazclick

great information! http://www.phoneunlimitedcall.com/

professorrosado

The banking system in the U.S. has NOT changed for anybody – simplified explanation. Now why should we have Dwolla? It’s an alternative to having the other guy – that’s it: bottom line.

http://www.facebook.com/manpreet.goraya.92 Manpreet Goraya

Can we use Dwolla for receiving payments at Ebay?

CaityJones

Currently we are not integrated with Ebay – however if you’d like to let them know you are interested that would be amazing! http://forums.ebay.com/category/Ebay-Discussion-Boards/2001

LN

My boss requested me to log into Dwolla for my payments and I must say… I HATE IT! Unlike Paypal or something similar, it took 4 days for his account to approve the payment and now it is telling me that the withdrawal of money will take 2-3 business days. This is the slowest process of payment that I have ever seen in my life! It’s not like my rent is due tomorrow or anything.

CaityJones

Thanks for the comment LN — as you can see with FiSync (shown above), we are working really hard to create solutions for those inconvenient delays. We’re constantly working to improve the product, and I hope in the future that you’ll be able to find value in our network.

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