BBVA Compass, Dwolla begin rollout of real-time bank transfers

HOUSTON and DES MOINES, Iowa, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- BBVA Compass today announced that its customers will be able to send and receive funds instantly through Dwolla, an all-digital payments network. The offering is made possible through the bank's use of Dwolla's secure payments protocol for financial institutions, FiSync, which enables the confirmation of good funds, secure authentication and real-time availability of money to and from the Dwolla network.

The collaboration makes BBVA Compass the largest financial institution to use the Dwolla platform to eliminate the wait associated with the decades-old Automated Clearing House (ACH), where transfers typically take two-to-five business days to clear.

The partnership also marks the debut of FiSync's pioneering use of authentication and tokenization processes, which remove the need for account holders to provide sensitive bank account information or credentials to Dwolla or any other party it transacts with. Developed jointly by BBVA Compass and Dwolla, these processes are a significant departure from other payments platforms like ApplePay, Stripe or PayPal, where customers must supply their payment information to providers or third parties.

The launch underscores BBVA Compass' commitment to digital transformation, and signals its clear intent to lead the financial industry into the 21st century.

"Consumers can now get anything on demand — music, movies, services — but the underlying financial transactions can sometimes take days to finalize," said BBVA Compass Chairman and CEO Manolo Sanchez. "By working with Dwolla, BBVA Compass is ensuring that money is able to keep up with the speed of the instant economy. This will have a real and lasting impact on businesses and consumers alike."

Real-time transfers with BBVA Compass will be particularly useful for startups, enterprise companies and small businesses looking for a simple, secure and inexpensive way to collect funds, make disbursements or handle B2B payments. Clients of the bank will be able to send in real-time to other BBVA Compass account holders and the Dwolla network — a tangible manifestation of efforts by BBVA Compass and Dwolla to pave the way for payments to reflect the instant economy.

"FiSync's confirmation of good funds, real-time availability, and 24/7/365 clearing times are exactly the features that U.S. businesses — from startups all the way to large enterprises — need from their financial institutions to keep up in today's real-time economy," offered Ben Milne, CEO and cofounder of Dwolla.

The standalone Dwolla network uses new technologies and Internet-connected devices to streamline, modernize and enhance access to the nation's $34 trillion payments infrastructure, offering individuals, financial institutions, U.S. businesses of all sizes and governments a secure and sensible approach to moving funds. BBVA Compass will maintain Dwolla's existing pricing for its customers' real-time transfers — 25 cents per transaction if it is more than $10, or free if less.

Open innovation

Inspired by the open standards that are advancing other industries, BBVA Compass and Dwolla first announced their alliance in October 2014, with the bank becoming the only major bank to open its platform to such an extent to digital developers. The real-time transfer service for BBVA Compass clients is part of the first stage of their agreement.

Another crucial component of this stage of the partnership is its direct appeal to innovators: Any entity or individual with a BBVA Compass account will be able to leverage real-time payments via Dwolla's existing open platform. Through the use of Dwolla's available application programming interfaces, or APIs, developers will be able to create their own custom real-time payments applications or business processes.

"FiSync will give anyone with a BBVA Compass relationship a real-time platform to innovate new services, build compelling products or improve existing systems," Milne said.

By allowing end-users to grant or revoke account access, Dwolla's secure authentication experience allows them to interact with merchants and applications in a way that is more controlled, secure and seamless than existing payments instruments. Transactions authorized through ACH, for instance, grant recipients direct access to bank accounts, not to mention disclosure of bank account and routing numbers. Consumer groups have called for easier methods of revoking recipients' account access, and Dwolla's network allows consumers to authorize and revoke access in a matter of seconds.

BBVA Compass and Dwolla will continue to roll out additional features and updates to their relationship in subsequent months.

"The financial industry is steadily marching toward a real-time system," Sanchez said. "Both BBVA Compass and Dwolla intend to lead the movement and provide a roadmap for others. Without a doubt, it's an exciting time to be in banking."

For more information, click here. Businesses interested in learning more about FiSync, click here.  

About BBVA Group

BBVA Compass is a subsidiary of BBVA Compass Bancshares Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) (MAD: BBVA). BBVA is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a solid position in Spain, is the largest financial institution in Mexico and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt region of the United States. Its diversified business is geared toward high-growth markets and relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. The Group is present in the main sustainability indexes. More information about the BBVA Group can be found at www.bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 672 branches, including 341 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 77 in Arizona, 62 in California, 45 in Florida, 38 in Colorado and 20 in New Mexico, and commercial and private client offices throughout the U.S. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass earned the top ranking with customers in American Banker's 2014 annual reputation survey of the top 25 largest U.S. retail banks. It also has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration and in 2014 ranked 12th nationally in total SBA loan volume. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com, by following @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visiting newsroom.bbvacompass.com. 

Editor's Note:
BBVA Compass is a trade name of Compass Bank, Member FDIC.

About Dwolla

Dwolla creates an end-to-end, open-loop payment solution for anything connected to the Internet. The back-end software uses strategic financial partnerships and existing bank accounts to turn mobile phones, computers, social communities, and even physical locations into a secure network that bypasses, streamlines, or replaces components of current card and bank transfer systems. This allows friends, families, merchants, enterprise businesses, even the U.S. Federal Government to electronically send and receive funds, like cash, but without the fees and constraints of traditional debit and credit cards. Dwolla has raised over $30 million from CME Group, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, et al and is based in Des Moines, Iowa. 

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