Page 23 - GS210802
P. 23

CompanyProfile




        Move money securely,


        seamlessly with one

        integration



                                                                                ISO/MLS contact:
                  stra  Inc.  was  founded  in October  2016  by
                  Gil  Akos and Sam Morgan, modern finance                          Sam Morgan
                  executives who believed in the power and                      COO & Co-founder
        A potential of advanced, automated technolo-
        gies. Observing a need for a full stack money movement                  sam@astra.finance
        platform with risk mitigation, anti-fraud and accelerated
        settlement capabilities, the co-founders set out to create                 440-668-3522
        an infrastructure that supports financial transfers at a               https://astra.finance/
        market competitive price.
        "Our mission is to increase the efficiency of the financial
        system for all by mapping the financial graph and auto-       ditional  coordination required  between employer
        mating the movement of funds through it," Morgan said.        or payroll provider. These funds transfer routines
        "Our technology is designed for all so that any two ac-       from old to new accounts remain in place until de-
        counts can be connected and leverage automation to en-        activated.
        sure more automation and less manual management in          • Secure ACH transfers: Confidently move funds
        personal finance."                                            backed by fraud detection and prevention, automat-
                                                                      ed balance checking, and healing for returned or
        Morgan recalled that Astra launched its Automated Bank        failed transfers. Users are protected from fraud and
        Transfer API in 2021, and subsequently entered into nu-       return codes and can reliably send large sums of
        merous strategic partnerships with leading fintech firms,     money between their accounts – default fast (some-
        including Daylight, Dwolla, Unifimoney, Overflow and          times in just one business day and up to $25,000 per
        Purple Financial. In addition, he noted, Astra launched       transaction).
        a mobile-friendly web app that enables users to manage
        their Astra profile quickly and easily from any device.   Built for security, speed
        Developers can also use the web app for authorizations   Designed to remove friction, delays and uncertainties
        and graceful fallbacks to facilitate customer onboarding   from money movement, Astra solutions eliminate cum-
        in multiple web environments, he added.                  bersome balance reconciliation processes and use inte-
        Full stack APIs                                          grated  anti-fraud  to  prevent  lost  funds,  Morgan  stated.
                                                                 He also pointed out that Astra solutions facilitate fast and
        Morgan characterized Astra's Automation as a Service of-  accurate funds transfers without return codes or transfer
        fering and full stack API as its primary differentiators,   failures.
        stating that the SaaS provides clients, partners and resell-
        ers with competitively priced, essential infrastructure.   "By working across the payments ecosystem, with ISOs,
        He also noted that the full stack API provides developers   MLSs and other payments enterprises,
        with a lightweight integration that facilitates funds trans-  Astra forges symbiotic partnerships, especially with com-
        fers between depository accounts, either on demand or    panies that receive or originate funds transfers," Morgan
        using prebuilt automations such as round ups or sweeps.   said. "Astra's orchestration technology benefits these or-
        He cited the following additional products and services:  ganizations, eliminating any worry about return code
            • Peer-to-peer transfers:  Utilize peer-to-peer trans-  errors or fraudulent transfers. Partners can instead focus
              fers within a mobile app enhanced by Astra's set-  on other aspects of their operations or differentiating fea-
              tlement improvements and risk mitigation for B2B   tures for their products."
              and B2C bank-to-bank transfers.                    As he looked ahead to Astra's near-term product road
            • Fund new customer accounts: Leverage the Astra     map, Morgan indicated the next big releases will be all
              API to connect and fund existing user accounts and   about payment rails. After spending years developing
              create one-time, recurring or automated transfers   complex financial automations that leverage the ACH
              through the same API.                              network and successfully completing millions in trans-
            • Instant direct deposit shipping: Instantly set up   fers, we're going to open them up to even faster payment
              recurring transfers from existing user accounts to   rails like push-to-debit and RTP, which are coming later
              new accounts, moving up to $25,000 with no ad-     this year, he stated.
                                                                                                                23
   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28