5 ms·

Dwolla Grid is here. Cash just got more secure than plastic.

28 points by abrudtkuhl 15y ago

sgornick 15y ago
I'm not sure I like this: - http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/uuiy.png http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/uuiy.p... Zaarly is requesting permission for the following: "Allows money to be pulled out [by Zaarly] and sent to your contacts." Seriously? I want to opt-in for each purchase. I want only one-time use transactions, I refuse to grant some third party the ability to suck money from my account. That's why I'll never use ACH or a debit card for subscription-based services. This sounds like that is exactly what I'ld be doing?
- abrudtkuhl 15y ago
  You can opt-in for each purchase... it's optional to grant 3rd party permissions
  - jslampe 15y ago
    To add onto that, if you think about it, a lot of other payment platforms already do this without your knowledge. How else do you think you get stuck with recurring magazine charges for Highlights Magazine... Or is that just me? Anyway, when we do it you have total and utter control over the access third parties have. Another way to look at it: What if Visa allowed you to see everyone that has had access to your billing information to revoke or change it as you pleased? We thought that'd be huge, especially because you, the consumer, aren't exposing personal information. Also, because 3rd parties aren't allowed to access or store your credentials, they don't have the liability of protecting it. It's still permission oriented, like swiping, but centralized for independent control. Go here to see what it will look like to manage those "permissions": http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Grid-consumers.png http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Grid-c...
aidenn0 15y ago
Okay, after reading that page, I still don't know what Dwolla Grid is.
- wccrawford 15y ago
  I think it's magic, seeing as how it's 'free' and can keep your info secure like that. Neither of which I believe.
  - jslampe 15y ago
    Ha, fair enough. The Members Group is a financial services company (serving roughly 2 million members) and is one of our main investors and security partners. Working together with them, we've been able to provide Grid's distribution for free. But you do bring up a good point to clarify. While the Grid is free, using our rails is not. In our online and mobile platforms, we charge a flat fee of 25 cents, no matter the size of the transaction. So, when a third party does build on top of our network, we still hold onto that quarter. This is our only fee. Sorry for misleading you. I'll change the verbiage.
    - thinkcomp 15y ago
      Jared, I'm pretty sure your assumptions about what it means to have The Members Group as an investor need to be double-checked. I believe you're still going to need licenses to operate in most states. Aaron
      - abrudtkuhl 15y ago
        licensed for what?
        anamax 15y ago
        dwolla grid looks like it holds and transfers money for people, which sounds somewhat "bankish". (IIRC, paypal managed to skirt that line, at least for a while.) For example, if you do a $15k transaction, do you have reporting requirements?
cfinke 15y ago
Cash has always been more secure than plastic.
- JonnieCache 15y ago
  Yeah. That is the most baffling part of this wholly baffling post. Unless you conflate "plastic" with "credit cards" and count the ability to retract a payment as a security feature, which is confusing, if not dishonest.
jslampe 15y ago
Hey, everyone I'd invite you all to checkout some other coverage that may help clear things up a bit: -http://www.siliconprairienews.com/2011/06/dwolla-releases-grid-a-facebook-connect-for-its-payment-network http://www.siliconprairienews.com/2011/06/dwolla-releases-gr... -http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/06/07/dwollas-grid-api-could-make-cash-more-secure-than-plastic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29 http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/06/07/dwollas-grid-api-could... Honestly, we severely underestimated the demand and intrigue Grid would garner among certain tech circles (we mainly built this to assist in our financial services product, called FiSync). We understand you all have questions, many of them as a result of encountering something "new." We'd be happy to help clarify any questions you might have. Also, feel free to check our recent coverage (http://www.dwolla.org/help/dwolla-in-the-news/ http://www.dwolla.org/help/dwolla-in-the-news/). Hopefully, combined with this information, we'll be able to better communicate what Grid is.
kylemaxwell 15y ago
I work for a payment processor and so I'm interested in the space, but I'm not quite following. I see a lot of conclusions rather than any explanation behind it. Disappointing since I'd like to see something new and cool here.
grok2 15y ago
Confused about the cost. At the end of the article it says -- "Nothing. It’s free. For everyone.". At the bottom of the page it says -- "Dwolla is just 25 cents per transaction.".
- abrudtkuhl 15y ago
  using the Grid feature as a developer and end user is free. However there is a 25c flat transaction fee that is to be paid for by either party in the transaction
- jslampe 15y ago
  Hey, I went ahead and updated that per a conversation below, sorry for the confusion. Yes, we do keep our 25 cents and is still far cheaper than the 2-6% interchange and 30 cent processing fees associated with the other networks. It's also a safer network for developers, as they're not responsible for handling and storing credentials (#sony). To clarify, I kept the update (the thing I think you're quoting)at the bottom, but changed some of the verbiage in the post to better reflect this.
mrzerga 15y ago
like...total confusion... confusing article. confusing comments.... if it quacks like a duck, that it must be a.. paypal? or how are you guys different from paypal, again? something about third party developers....how are you going to atract 3rd-parties if I as a consumer after reading post and comments still do not understand what your service does, and what are the benefits...apart from privacy - this stuff is just plain pointless in this day and age....
pbreit 15y ago
Why is Dwolla using a .org? Also, I think a plain English description of what Dwolla is or is trying to do would be helpful (and I've been in the payments business for the past 20 years).

28 points by abrudtkuhl 15y ago

I'm not sure I like this: - http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/uuiy.png http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/uuiy.p... Zaarly is requesting permission for the following: "Allows money to be pulled out [by Zaarly] and sent to your contacts." Seriously? I want to opt-in for each purchase. I want only one-time use transactions, I refuse to grant some third party the ability to suck money from my account. That's why I'll never use ACH or a debit card for subscription-based services. This sounds like that is exactly what I'ld be doing?

abrudtkuhl 15y ago
You can opt-in for each purchase... it's optional to grant 3rd party permissions
- jslampe 15y ago
  To add onto that, if you think about it, a lot of other payment platforms already do this without your knowledge. How else do you think you get stuck with recurring magazine charges for Highlights Magazine... Or is that just me? Anyway, when we do it you have total and utter control over the access third parties have. Another way to look at it: What if Visa allowed you to see everyone that has had access to your billing information to revoke or change it as you pleased? We thought that'd be huge, especially because you, the consumer, aren't exposing personal information. Also, because 3rd parties aren't allowed to access or store your credentials, they don't have the liability of protecting it. It's still permission oriented, like swiping, but centralized for independent control. Go here to see what it will look like to manage those "permissions": http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Grid-consumers.png http://www.dwolla.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Grid-c...

aidenn0 15y ago

Okay, after reading that page, I still don't know what Dwolla Grid is.

wccrawford 15y ago
I think it's magic, seeing as how it's 'free' and can keep your info secure like that. Neither of which I believe.
- jslampe 15y ago
  Ha, fair enough. The Members Group is a financial services company (serving roughly 2 million members) and is one of our main investors and security partners. Working together with them, we've been able to provide Grid's distribution for free. But you do bring up a good point to clarify. While the Grid is free, using our rails is not. In our online and mobile platforms, we charge a flat fee of 25 cents, no matter the size of the transaction. So, when a third party does build on top of our network, we still hold onto that quarter. This is our only fee. Sorry for misleading you. I'll change the verbiage.
  - thinkcomp 15y ago
    Jared, I'm pretty sure your assumptions about what it means to have The Members Group as an investor need to be double-checked. I believe you're still going to need licenses to operate in most states. Aaron
    - abrudtkuhl 15y ago
      licensed for what?
      - anamax 15y ago
        dwolla grid looks like it holds and transfers money for people, which sounds somewhat "bankish". (IIRC, paypal managed to skirt that line, at least for a while.) For example, if you do a $15k transaction, do you have reporting requirements?

cfinke 15y ago

Cash has always been more secure than plastic.

JonnieCache 15y ago
Yeah. That is the most baffling part of this wholly baffling post. Unless you conflate "plastic" with "credit cards" and count the ability to retract a payment as a security feature, which is confusing, if not dishonest.

jslampe 15y ago

Hey, everyone I'd invite you all to checkout some other coverage that may help clear things up a bit: -http://www.siliconprairienews.com/2011/06/dwolla-releases-grid-a-facebook-connect-for-its-payment-network http://www.siliconprairienews.com/2011/06/dwolla-releases-gr... -http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/06/07/dwollas-grid-api-could-make-cash-more-secure-than-plastic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29 http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/06/07/dwollas-grid-api-could... Honestly, we severely underestimated the demand and intrigue Grid would garner among certain tech circles (we mainly built this to assist in our financial services product, called FiSync). We understand you all have questions, many of them as a result of encountering something "new." We'd be happy to help clarify any questions you might have. Also, feel free to check our recent coverage (http://www.dwolla.org/help/dwolla-in-the-news/ http://www.dwolla.org/help/dwolla-in-the-news/). Hopefully, combined with this information, we'll be able to better communicate what Grid is.

kylemaxwell 15y ago

I work for a payment processor and so I'm interested in the space, but I'm not quite following. I see a lot of conclusions rather than any explanation behind it. Disappointing since I'd like to see something new and cool here.

grok2 15y ago

Confused about the cost. At the end of the article it says -- "Nothing. It’s free. For everyone.". At the bottom of the page it says -- "Dwolla is just 25 cents per transaction.".

abrudtkuhl 15y ago
using the Grid feature as a developer and end user is free. However there is a 25c flat transaction fee that is to be paid for by either party in the transaction
jslampe 15y ago
Hey, I went ahead and updated that per a conversation below, sorry for the confusion. Yes, we do keep our 25 cents and is still far cheaper than the 2-6% interchange and 30 cent processing fees associated with the other networks. It's also a safer network for developers, as they're not responsible for handling and storing credentials (#sony). To clarify, I kept the update (the thing I think you're quoting)at the bottom, but changed some of the verbiage in the post to better reflect this.

mrzerga 15y ago

like...total confusion... confusing article. confusing comments.... if it quacks like a duck, that it must be a.. paypal? or how are you guys different from paypal, again? something about third party developers....how are you going to atract 3rd-parties if I as a consumer after reading post and comments still do not understand what your service does, and what are the benefits...apart from privacy - this stuff is just plain pointless in this day and age....

pbreit 15y ago

Why is Dwolla using a .org? Also, I think a plain English description of what Dwolla is or is trying to do would be helpful (and I've been in the payments business for the past 20 years).