Astra’s Innovative Instant Payout Solution Powered by Cross River and Visa Direct Quickly Exceeds $100M in Annual Gross Payments

Astra (Astra, Inc.), a money transfer automation platform, today announced the success of its instant payment solution using the Visa Direct network. Through a strategic partnership with Cross River Bank (“Cross River”), a technology infrastructure provider offering embedded financial solutions, Astra provides a first-of-its-kind infrastructure that enables fintech developers to process payouts and payments through debit card payment systems. On an annual basis, the partnership already successfully processes over $100 million in annual gross payment volume (GPV) and 650,000 real-time transfers and plans to explore other joint solutions.

“With the expansion of Astra’s instant payment APIs, fintech developers can easily embed push-to-card transfers into their own applications without having to handle complex settlement mechanisms. In fact, allowing you to make payments in real time, directly to the balance of the recipient’s card. said Gil Akos, CEO of Astra. “Our customers continue to look for more options for instant payments in order to offer their users best-in-class products. By adding new flexible solutions through Visa Direct and our partnership with Cross River, developers can achieve more of their products with our scalable infrastructure.”

Traditionally, fintech developers have to choose a payment gateway according to the specific type of payment (“payment system”), which leads to multi-vendor integration and complexity. With this new category of solutions developed by Astra, payment can originate from any deposit account and go directly as a credit to a debit card, making transfers more efficient and faster for both senders and recipients.

“We are constantly trying to expand the menu of payment options available to developers, and our partners at Cross River remain open and receptive to innovation. Together, we are bringing this new Visa Direct-powered payment type to market, enabling another group of customers to use the Astra API and our full payments.” said Sam Morgan, chief operating officer of Astra.

Cross River combines the innovative offerings of a technology company with the proven expertise of a bank. Its API-based technology and proprietary banking core provide a comprehensive all-in-one platform. The FDIC-insured New Jersey Financial Institution is well known for partnering with partners to provide innovative embedded financial solutions. The two companies have partnered since Astra launched its peer-to-peer debit API, which increased the speed of transfers and the availability of the debit card system for developers in the United States.

“We are always looking for new ways to creatively collaborate with our partners to develop innovative solutions that address ineffective pain points,” said Keith Vander List, head of payments at Cross River. “We are proud of our success with Astra in bringing fintech developers streamlined and enhanced native payment experiences that provide true scalability.”