Dwolla
 | |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
Type of site | Online payment system |
| Headquarters | Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Employees | 75 (2015)[1] |
| URL | www |
| Registration | Required (can be done through API[2]) |
| Users | 500,000 (Fall 2013) |
| Launched | December 1, 2010|[3] |
| Current status | Active |
Dwolla /dəˈwɑːlə/ is a United States-only[4] e-commerce company that provides an online payment system and mobile payments network.[5][6]
History
The company was founded in 2008 with services based only in Iowa, and having two employees.[7] After raising US$1.31 million in funding,[8] Dwolla launched in the United States on December 1, 2010, with founders Ben Milne (CEO) and Shane Neuerburg (CTO), in Des Moines, Iowa,[9] and initially with a few small banks and retailers.
By June 2011, Dwolla had grown to 15 employees and 20,000 users, and it processed $1 million in a week for the first time.[10]
Dwolla began with Veridian Credit Union for banking services, while The Members Group of the Iowa Credit Union League processed their transactions.[11]
Products and services
Dwolla provides a white label service consisting of APIs to use the ACH system[12] and white label services expanded from payouts to include instant bank authorization for debiting bank accounts[13]
FiSync
On May 25, 2011, Dwolla released its FiSync integration, which aims to allow instantaneous transactions instead of the typical 2–3 day of the ACH Network transactions.[8] As of June 2011[update], Dwolla had 11 financial institutions signed on, providing access to 600,000 potential customers.[14] Dwolla quietly discontinued FiSync on January 31, 2017.[15]
Government payments
As of April 2013, the Iowa Department of Revenue allows businesses that pay cigarette stamp taxes to use Dwolla as a method of payment.[16] Iowa Governor Terry Branstad announced on January 6, 2014 that the state will expand the partnership to allow customers of Iowa Department of Transportation to pay fuel tax and vehicle registration costs online using the service.[17]
In February 2015, the US Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Service added Dwolla to the system which allows US Federal agencies to issue and receive electronic payments.[18]
Inadequate security practices
On February 27, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its first data security-related enforcement action[19] against Dwolla, Inc. Relying on its UDAAP-related authority, the CFPB alleged that Dwolla failed to maintain adequate data security practices despite representations made on the company website and in communications with consumers that the company has implemented practices that exceed industry standards. Among other requirements, Dwolla has agreed to settle and must cease making any misrepresentations about its data security practices.
See also
References
- ^ Roberts, Daniel (April 8, 2015). "Dwolla, a payments startup, scores its first big-bank partner". Fortune. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- ^ "API - Create a Customer".
- ^ "Dwolla blog - Cat is out of the bag. We are now national".
- ^ "Businesses". Dwolla (company site). Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
Today, Dwolla is only available in the U.S., but we're always exploring ways we can expand to help every small business move money quickly and safely.
- ^ Groenfeldt, Tom. "Dwolla Bank To Bank Transfers Let Companies Get Paid Without Credit Card Fees". Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ "How Dwolla Works". 2 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ Milne, Ben (June 17, 2011). "We've officially passed $1M a week in transactions". Dwolla blog. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Tsotsis, Alexia (March 25, 2011). "Dwolla's FiSync Lets You Instantly Access Cash, Eliminates ACH Wait Times For Banks". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ "Dwolla Meetup packs a full house at Mars Cafe". Silicon Prairie News. December 2, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
- ^ Alexia, Tsotsis (June 16, 2011). "Payments Service Dwolla Hits $1M A Week In Transactions". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ Needleman, Rafe (December 17, 2010). "Cash is dead, says Dwolla". CNET News. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ "Dwolla Unveils White Label Offering - Bank Innovation". Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ "Bank account verification and transfers in just a few lines of code". Archived from the original on 3 May 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Wood, Geoff (December 1, 2009). "Dwolla launches in Iowa". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ Milne, Ben (2017-02-05). "Saying Goodbye To Old Products". Ben Milne. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- ^ "Iowa Government: Dwolla and Electronic Payments In, Paper Checks Out". www.creditcardprocessingspace.com. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ "Des Moines Register". Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ Boyd, Aaron (24 February 2015). "Pay.gov adds 'digital wallet' payment choice". Federal Times. TEGNA. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ^ "Administrative Proceeding". U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Further reading
- "Dwolla founder's burden of starting a tech revolution". USA Today. January 20, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- Carrns, Ann (January 23, 2012). "Using Dwolla to Send and Receive Money". The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
- Singh, S. (2013). Globalization and Money: A Global South Perspective. Globalization. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 132–. ISBN 978-1-4422-1357-9. (subscription required)
