How to Set Up EFT Service as a Card Issuer

Everything you need to configure your EFT service and enable secure, fast investing for your cardholders through addy.

Overview

To allow your cardholders to invest through addy using funds pulled directly from their linked bank accounts, you’ll need to set up your EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) service with us.

This setup ensures that:

• PAD-authorized transactions can be submitted through your EFT processor.

• Funds flow from members’ linked accounts into your corporate account.

• Risk controls are in place via instant funding limits.

⚠️ Note: You will need to ensure you have set up your account to process 80 Byte EFT Files with your Financial Institution before you can set up and run a test through the addy Software.

What You Need to Provide

Here’s what we’ll need from you to get started:

1. 💼 Banking Details

To correctly configure your EFT file generation, please provide:

2. 🆔 Originator ID

This is your official Originator Identification Number, issued by your bank or payment processor. It identifies your company as the source of EFT debits. Without this, EFT transactions can’t be initiated.

Make sure:

• It’s active and approved for PADs

• It’s correctly registered with your bank and/or EFT partner

3. ⚠️ Instant Funding Limit (Unverified Release Limit)

This is the maximum dollar amount you’ll allow members to invest with their card before the funds have actually cleared from their linked bank account via EFT.

When a member uses a card issued by you to invest through addy, the transaction gets initiated right away. But EFTs usually take 7 business days to fully process, after they have been submitted for processing with your FI. If you want members to be able to invest instantly—without waiting for the funds to settle—you’ll need to set an instant funding limit.

This is also sometimes referred to as an Unverified Release Limit.

How it works:

• Members can invest up to this limit using their card, and the funds will be credited to their addy wallet instantly, even though the EFT hasn’t cleared yet.

• If the EFT fails (e.g., insufficient funds, closed account), the member’s wallet balance will be adjusted, and any investments made will automatically be cancelled.

• You control this limit based on your risk tolerance.

• The 7 business day period only started to count down after it has been submitted for processing. 
  

   

  Example:

  Let’s say you set the limit to $10,000 per member.

  If a member makes a deposit of $15,000 using their card, $10,000 will be available instantly, while $5,000 will remain on hold.

  The member can now invest up to $10,000 without waiting for the initial clearing period. Any additional deposits made during this clearing period won’t be released right away. Once the clearing period has passed, the system will re-calculate how much of the balance is still on hold based on the next applicable release schedule.

  Once the original EFT clears, the member’s instant funding limit resets.

  💡 You can adjust this limit at any time. It applies per member, not per transaction.

4. 📊 Set an EFT Threshold for Investors

To help manage risk and limit exposure to potential chargebacks or failed debits, you can set an EFT deposit threshold for your investors.

This threshold limits how much any individual investor can deposit via EFT over a trailing 90-day period.

How It Works:

• You define the maximum total amount an investor can deposit using EFT across a trailing 90-day window (e.g., $5,000).

• Once an investor hits this limit, they won’t be able to make additional EFT deposits until some of the previous transactions fall outside the 90-day window.

• This setting applies only to EFT deposits and does not affect other funding methods like Interac or Wire.

Recap: Setup Checklist ✅

Make sure you have the following ready:

• Bank Name

• Transit Number

• Bank Account Number

• Routing Number (if applicable)

• Currency (CAD/USD)

• Originator ID

• Unverified Release Limit

• EFT Thresholds