Overview

ACH is a great way for customers to pay for their services using their bank account. When setting up an ACH payment on the account, a customer usually enters these details themselves through the portal. When doing so, they usually login directly to their bank account to allow Stripe to verify and ensure the bank account details are correct and there are no issues.

However, there may be times a user cannot login to their bank account and needs to manually enter the bank account details, does not have instant verification enabled on their bank account or a user within gaiia needs to add these details. In these cases, Stripe requires an additional verification process. This process is called micro deposits and involves posting one or two very small deposits on the customer's bank account.

This document will outline how to manage this process directly in gaiia and the micro deposit process in a bit more detail.

Canadian pre-authorized debits (PAD), available to customers in Canada, use the same micro deposit verification process. The differences are covered in the Canadian pre-authorized debit (PAD) verification section below.

ACH Payment Verification Process

As outlined above, Stripe uses a micro deposit process to verify the authenticity of the bank account being provided, in cases where it cannot be instantaneously verified. As the name suggests, the deposits are used to ensure that the bank is actually valid and can be used for payments. These deposits can occur in one of two ways:

1. A single deposit (usually just $0.01) is added to the bank account with a unique code in the description (SM-XXXXX). The customer or a user within gaiia will then need to enter this code to verify the account.
2. Two small deposits of the same or differing amounts are added to the bank account with a clear identifier it is Stripe. The customer or a user within gaiia will then need to enter both amounts to verify the account.

Regardless of how the deposits occur, the general process that occurs is as follows:

1. A user within gaiia or a customer, enters the bank account details.
2. The payment method is added in a "Requires verification" status in gaiia.
3. An email is sent to the customer to notify that the bank account requires further verification. This email will contain:
   1. An explanation of the process.
   2. When the customer can expect the micro deposit to occur in their bank account.
   3. A url to allow them to enter the necessary details.
4. At the specified date, the micro deposit occurs (using one of the methods outlined above).
5. A customer using the provided URL in the email or a user directly within gaiia can then enter the code or amounts to verify the bank account.

Managing ACH Payment Verification

While the section above outlined the general process, this section, will outline how to manage this directly within gaiia.

Identifying a Payment that Requires Verification & Verifying It

Any ACH payment method that requires or currently going through micro deposit verification can be identified by the "Requires verification" tag shown directly on it.

From here, a user can click on the options menu of the payment method and verify it directly in gaiia, on behalf of the customer. A window, depending on which micro deposit process is required, will appear allowing the user to complete it.

If verified successfully, this will remove the "Requires verification" status on the payment method and it will be available for use in one-time and auto payments.

Customer Notification

A user within gaiia can verify the method, but a customer will likely complete this process. Once a payment method is added that requires verification, an automated communication is immediately sent out to them notifying them of the process that is required.

A new template has been added called "Bank account verification" for this notification. Like all communication within gaiia, it can be fully customized and, by default, includes all necessary merge tags to ensure the right details are provided to the customer.

Tracking Payment Verifications

gaiia also provides reporting to track all payments being verified across all of the customers. Within the "Account Payment Methods" report under the "Billing" category, use the "ACH Payments Requiring Additional Verification" & "ACH Payments Failing Verification" to review these details.

Canadian pre-authorized debit (PAD) verification

Canadian pre-authorized debits (PAD) let customers in Canada pay for their services from their bank account. When a customer enters their bank account details by hand, a PAD goes through the same micro deposit verification process as ACH, with these differences:

1. A PAD is always verified with two small deposits, never with a code. The deposits appear on the customer's bank statement as "ACCTVERIFY".
2. A PAD can only be added by the customer, in the checkout or the client portal. A user within gaiia can verify a PAD on the customer's behalf, but cannot add one.
3. The customer is notified with the same "Bank account verification" template as for ACH.

Adding and Verifying a PAD from the Client Portal

Here is what a customer sees when they add a PAD by entering their bank account details by hand.

1. In the client portal, the customer opens Billing and payment > Payment methods and clicks on Add payment method.
   
2. They select Bank account and click on Next.
   

3. In the Stripe window, they enter their Institution number, Transit number and Account number, then click on Submit.
   

   If the customer clicks on select your bank instead and logs in to their bank, Stripe confirms the account right away and no micro deposits are needed.

4. The customer receives the bank account verification email, with a link to confirm the two amounts.
   
5. Once the deposits reach their account, they open the link, enter the two amounts and click on Verify.
   
6. The verified PAD appears in their payment methods, ready for one-time and automatic payments.
   

Verifying a PAD Within gaiia

A user within gaiia can verify a PAD the same way as an ACH payment method: open the payment method's Ellipsis menu and click on Verify. For a PAD, the window always asks for the two deposit amounts.