
FinTech News
Orum Announces Launch Bank Account Verification Tool
Orum has launched its new bank account verification tool aptly named Verify.
About the tool:
The payments API FinTech Orum has announced its new tool Verify. Built on top of the Federal Reserve’s new FedNow platform, Orum says that Verify is able to confirm whether a bank account is open and valid within 15 seconds. The tool supports all United States-based consumer and business bank accounts.
About FedNow:
The Federal Reserve’s FedNow platform was first announced in July and allows for instant payments. Initially, more than 35 institutions signed on to be early adopters, including the likes of JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. Other banks and credit unions can now sign-up to use the service.
What they’re saying:
Announcing Verify, Orum founder and CEO Stephany Kirkpatrick noted, “Failed payments cost the global economy over $100 billon each year. Lost time verifying accounts equals lost revenue and ultimately lost customers. This is especially true for business bank accounts, which are notoriously difficult to verify.”
Kirkpatrick went on to say, “Businesses need confidence they are debiting or crediting a real account to ensure the payment lands safely in the bank account, but most solutions today are slow or don’t include coverage for all B2B use cases. Verify – built on top of FedNow – has changed this equation, making it now possible to verify any type of bank account instantly.”
Reinforcing Kirkpatrick’s statements, the founder and CEO of Maroo — which has already been using the Verify platform for its event payments platform — said of the tool, “Replacing one partner with another solution is always complicated and comes with risks, but thanks to Orum’s partnership, our new solution is a clear success – benefiting the thousands of businesses and individuals across our community, making sure they can onboard with zero friction, get up and running easily, and have the money they need, as fast as possible — all while helping us grow our business. It’s a win for everyone involved.”
My thoughts:
As Orum points out, its Verify service could be useful to a variety of businesses, ranging from restaurants to e-commerce platforms. Even 529 college savings platforms were mentioned. Indeed, it’s not hard to imagine uses for the tool.
With that said, it seems likely that this type of technology will quickly become ubiquitous, which begs the question “how special will Verify prove to be?” — especially when it’s already built on an existing platform. Regardless of what the answer to that ends up being, hopefully businesses can benefit from Verify and similar tools that may emerge.