DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Astra is a mobile app that helps consumers optimize their cash flow through automated bank transfers. Today, Astra announced the unprecedented release of "sweep" transfer functionality. Typically only available through private banking to high net worth individuals, "sweep" transfers automatically move funds from one account to another based on a predefined balance. Astra is the first app to bring this advanced banking feature directly to consumers. Through the Astra app, anyone can easily save money by transferring funds out of a checking account and into another account without withdrawing any more than the threshold balance. Consumers get the benefit of saving on autopilot with the confidence that their balance won't be overly affected if it dips below the amount they specify. Transfer amounts are calculated dynamically and automated through Astra's middleware for the ACH Network that executes bank transfers through Dwolla, Inc.
Astra was founded in 2016 by Gil Akos and Sam Morgan. Their combined experience includes bootstrapping startup growth, cash flow forecasting and helping manage more than $1 billion in assets. With their insights on how empowering financial models can be, Akos and Morgan set out to democratize access to these advanced banking tools so everyone could do more with their money.
"Our mission has always been to make your experience with managing your finances more intelligent, empowering and personal," says Akos, co-founder and CEO of Astra. "Our financial lives are becoming more complex, with more accounts to manage across more financial institutions. No matter who you bank with and no matter how many accounts you have, Astra offers a universal, convenient-to-use app that makes our financial lives simpler and more automated—modern finance the way it should be."
To facilitate its core bank transfer functionality, Astra partnered with Dwolla early in 2018 as they developed its iOS app. Until today, those transfers could be set to recurring but fixed amounts specified by the user. Astra needed Dwolla's on demand transfers to allow its users to initiate transfers of varying amounts across time.
Dwolla, Inc. is a financial technology company that offers businesses an onramp to the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network, an electronic network of financial institutions that moves more than 43 trillion dollars annually. Connecting to the ACH Network can provide cost savings compared to credit cards and checks. Efficiency was a large factor in Astra's decision to work with Dwolla.
Astra automates bank transfers between a user's accounts in a "me to me" payment flow using Dwolla's API and integration with Plaid. As a result, consumers can save more effectively and efficiently while making sure their money is in the right place at the right time.
With the release of "sweep" transfers, Astra continues its legacy of developing powerful yet accessible tools for personal finance and Dwolla furthers its connection with innovative companies.
#DWOLLApowers Astra
About Astra
Astra is a financial intelligence company, developing smart technology to help you manage your money. Our mobile app helps consumers save more through the creation of savings goals, virtual sub accounts, automated transfers across institutions, and sweep functionality. Free to use and simple to set up, our goal is to allow everyone to make the most of their money, regardless of how much they have.
About Dwolla
Dwolla, Inc is a financial technology company that is changing the way businesses send and receive funds. The company offers a seamless, white label API platform to connect to the ACH Network to initiate payments.
Since 2010, when Dwolla began creating the ideal platform to move money, the company has helped move billions of dollars, integrated with hundreds of customers and has been mentioned in Inc., Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Businesses that need to efficiently send or receive money and are ready for the future either use Dwolla—or they should.
Media Inquiries:
Gil Akos
Co-founder, CEO
[email protected]
Jenna Humpal
Dwolla, Inc.
[email protected]
SOURCE Dwolla Inc.
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