Plaid and Zero Hash Partnership Lets Customers Trade Crypto via ACH

Financial services company Plaid and cryptocurrency infrastructure platform Zero Hash teamed to let customers buy and sell cryptocurrency via automated clearing house (ACH).

“Zero Hash and Plaid’s mutual customers can now embed bank account linking and customize ACH-funded crypto trades,” the companies said in a news release Tuesday (Oct. 24). “…Powered by Plaid Transfer, Zero Hash now offers access to widely connected and secure bank transfer payments that enable a user to complete fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat trades, and to pre-fund a wallet with fiat bank deposits for trading later, without having to leave the platform or app or take out a debit card.”

Meanwhile, Plaid customers and “other crypto-focused companies” get access to Zero Hash’s application programming interface (API) stack, which includes “regulated custody, liquidity and settlement to launch crypto products in weeks,” the release said.

The two firms offer secure data exchange between them and said in the release “customer data is handled in line with the industry’s best compliance, fraud and security practices.”

“Consumers want a seamless onboarding experience and speedy access to funds when engaging with crypto,” said Zero Hash CEO Edward Woodford in the release. “This partnership enables speed, simplicity and security. Bridging crypto and fiat payment rails is now core to Zero Hash’s Crypto-as-a-Service platform. By offering ACH bank transfers, we provide platforms the flexibility of different settlement mechanisms while reducing associated payment complexities and compliance concerns.”

ACH transactions, once just used for direct deposits and routine debit withdrawals, have expanded to various eCommerce transactions, including cryptocurrency.

ACH volumes have grown for 10 consecutive years, with an increase of $1 trillion in 2022, according to data from the National Automated Clearinghouse Association (NACHA).

Earlier this year, Zero Hash named Cyril Mathew, a veteran of Coinbase and payments processor Stripe, as its new president and chief operating officer.

In a March blog post announcing his arrival Mathew said people have asked him why he is involved in the same space as FTX and others.

“I hate what happened to end users of these platforms, but I believe these issues largely happened because of a lack of regulation and transparency,” he said in the post.

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