Ansa & Plaid boost digital wallet systems for merchants with Pay by Bank

By Gloria Mathias

Ansa, the FinTech infrastructure platform, has partnered with Plaid, the digital financial ecosystem, to power digital wallets with high-converting pay-by-bank capabilities for merchants.

This partnership aims to empower merchants and restaurants, mainly coffee shops and quick-serve establishments, with cost-effective payment solutions. This will enhance their ability to drive bottom-line improvements and improve the customer experience overall.

When it comes to adopting ACH payment methods, merchants with low order values have traditionally been excluded due to limited accessibility and operational complexities. Commonly used in other retail sectors and accounting for more than 30 billion payments in 2023, ACH has long been unavailable to “habitual-usage, low-transaction value” (HULT) payments such as those in coffee shops and quick-serve restaurants due to gaps in the merchant and customer experience. Now, through Plaid and Ansa’s partnership, ACH wallet funding will be a viable and efficient option for merchants and restaurants.

By integrating Plaid’s pay-by-bank offering with Ansa’s stored value wallets, this partnership unlocks significant cost savings on wallet transactions that improve the bottom line and increase margins in a highly competitive market. Ansa’s Incentive Engine provides tools to let brands nudge and reward their best customers for paying through these preferred mechanisms.

“This partnership with Plaid is about meeting our customers where they are,” said Sophia Goldberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Ansa. “For coffee shops and quick-serve restaurants, in-store payment solutions are incredibly valuable, where a $4 latte purchase can incur fees of up to 12.5%, placing a massive burden on businesses. By bringing ACH funding to their digital wallets, we’re offering even greater opportunities for cost savings and customer engagement.”

Ansa’s stored-value solution allows businesses to create incentive-driven programs. These programs encourage customers to fund their digital wallets while receiving tailored rewards for their loyalty, improving a brand’s financial health.

“For restaurants and quick-serve business merchants, looking for ways to reduce costs and drive loyalty is a constant,” said Brian Dammier, Head of Payments at Plaid. “By partnering with companies like Ansa, we are solving this headache for them and going a step further by introducing pay-by-bank features that reduce friction and drive greater use among consumers.”.