At Ansa, we think a lot about how outdated payments systems hold businesses back. We’re obsessed with modernizing payments technology to serve how people actually shop. And today, we’re excited to take a large step in that direction: now any Ansa merchant can enable pay-by-bank as a payment option for their customers to reload their digital wallet.

‍

Here’s what we’re talking about: you've likely paid a bill with a digital transfer from your bank account, but how about to pay at your favorite coffee shop? For most brands, accepting ACH for everyday purchases seems like a dream with caveats: will my customers use it? How does fraud and settlement work?

‍

Finally, the benefits can outweigh the additional considerations. For merchants, direct debit or ACH payments are ideal to reduce their cost of payments. Fees on these transactions run $0.05 or less whereas an average card transaction has fixed fees that can range $0.20 to $0.50, plus 2-3% of the transaction value from interchange fees. Lower transaction fees mean real savings without having to cut corners on delivering an amazing product.

‍

A New Way to Pay

Understandably, driving customers to adopt bank-based payments has become a holy grail for many brands. Until recently a merchant may have to trade conversion and a smooth customer experience for these cost savings. We’re excited to announce the launch of pay-by-bank wallet funding alongside Plaid to finally close the conversion gap.

‍

With the launch of this partnership, merchants can launch a best-in-class pay-by-bank solution supercharged by Ansa’s white-labeled closed loop wallets and Incentive Engine to unlock huge cost savings benefits for merchants.

‍
How does Pay-by-Bank Work?

Closed loop wallets (or stored value wallets, learn more about the definitions here) allow customers load funds that they spend across multiple purchases. A customer can now link their bank account one time and can continue to fund their wallet, this reduces the risk for a brand of a longer settlement timeline and potential for reversal. A customer doesn't spend their entire balance at once which lessens some of the risks for a brand.

‍

While this all sounds like a dream for a merchant, how can they convince customers to try it? With Ansa, a merchant can configure incentives such as reload bonuses or cash back to reward customers for using the pay-by-bank features, or more along the lines of a $5 bonus for their first ACH reload of their wallet. With these tools, merchants can drive adoption of this holy grail solution, while also enjoying the average order volume (AOV) increase and retention benefits of stored value.

‍

By partnering with Ansa and Plaid, pay-by-bank is now an accessible modern solution that serves as a win-win for merchant success and customer experience for a wider range of merchants from coffee to gaming, fast food to marketplaces.