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APIs · head to head

Dwolla vs Griffin

Dwolla logo

Dwolla

APIs

Account to account payment API for ACH, RTP and FedNow with pay by bank and instant payment routing

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Griffin logo

Griffin

APIs

UK banking-as-a-service from a company that holds its own full banking licence

From
£100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Dwolla nothing is published: there are no per-transaction rates, no platform fee and no minimum on the pricing page, so every buyer negotiates blind and small platforms have no way to sanity check what they are quoted.; Griffin platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.
  • They diverge on capability: Dwolla covers ACH transfers, Griffin covers Bank accounts by API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Dwolla and Griffin actually diverge.

Attributes where Dwolla and Griffin differ
AttributeDwollaGriffin
Starting priceOn request£100/month
Pricing modelquotePer month with usage drawdown
PlatformsWebWeb, REST API

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Dwolla

  • ACH transfers
  • Instant payments
  • Rail orchestration
  • Bank account verification
  • Dwolla Balance
  • Webhooks and reconciliation
  • Pay by bank
  • White label flows

Only in Griffin

  • Bank accounts by API
  • UK payment rails
  • Integrated ledger
  • Automated onboarding
  • Debit cards
  • Interest on balances

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Dwolla

  • An insurance or lending platform disbursing funds to customer bank accounts where card payout fees would destroy the marginnot Griffin
  • A B2B marketplace collecting large invoice payments by bank transfer rather than paying interchange on cardsnot Griffin
  • A payroll or gig platform that needs to pay workers instantly and wants the rail chosen automatically by receiving bank capabilitynot Griffin
  • A property management system collecting rent by ACH with verified bank accounts and reliable return handlingnot Griffin

Griffin

  • A wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an EMI safeguarding accountnot Dwolla
  • A lender wanting UK accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itselfnot Dwolla
  • A fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the API provider to be the same entitynot Dwolla
  • A platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trailnot Dwolla

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Dwolla

  • Nothing is published: there are no per-transaction rates, no platform fee and no minimum on the pricing page, so every buyer negotiates blind and small platforms have no way to sanity check what they are quoted.
  • It is payments only, with no deposit accounts, card issuing or general ledger, so companies embedding financial products need at least one further vendor and the reconciliation between them.
  • Instant payment reach depends on the receiving institution supporting RTP or FedNow, so a meaningful share of payouts still fall back to ACH timing regardless of what the API can do.
  • ACH returns and administrative returns remain your operational problem, and platforms new to bank rails routinely underestimate the customer support load that failed debits generate.
  • Access to instant rails runs through Dwolla banking partner, which reintroduces a bank dependency into a product that otherwise avoids sponsor bank programme risk.

Griffin

  • Platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.
  • It is UK-only, so a business with European or US operations needs a second banking provider and a second integration for those entities.
  • It is a young bank with a small balance sheet relative to incumbents, and enterprise counterparties still ask hard questions about concentration risk.
  • Holding a banking licence means Griffin applies bank-grade due diligence to its own clients, so onboarding is slower and more selective than an EMI-based provider.
  • Feature breadth is narrower than long-established providers, particularly in card programme management and in payment types beyond core UK rails.

Pricing, plan by plan

Dwolla

On request
  • Dwolla Payment API$undefined/year
    • Custom pricing built around transaction volume, rails used and integration needs
    • No published per-transaction rates or platform fees
    • Volume based plans for platforms and enterprises

Griffin

£100/month
  • Business Banking$100/month
    • From 100 pounds per month
    • Interest or commission from around 1.75 percent AER variable
    • Operational accounts and UK payment rails
  • Platform Banking$3500/month
    • One-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds
    • Minimum monthly spend of 3,500 pounds, drawn down by usage
    • Higher committed tiers at 5,000 and 10,000 pounds with discounts
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing
    • Bespoke account structures and volumes
    • Negotiated interest or commission share

Which should you pick?

Choose Dwolla if

  • You need ach transfers.
  • You also want instant payments.
Dwolla review

Choose Griffin if

  • You need bank accounts by api.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want uk payment rails.
Griffin review

Questions people ask

Is Dwolla or Griffin better?
Neither clearly leads. Dwolla starts at On request and Griffin at £100/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Dwolla or Griffin?
Dwolla starts at On request and Griffin at £100/month.
Does Dwolla or Griffin run on more platforms?
Dwolla runs on Web. Griffin runs on Web, REST API.
What is Dwolla best used for?
Dwolla is most often used for an insurance or lending platform disbursing funds to customer bank accounts where card payout fees would destroy the margin, a b2b marketplace collecting large invoice payments by bank transfer rather than paying interchange on cards, a payroll or gig platform that needs to pay workers instantly and wants the rail chosen automatically by receiving bank capability, a property management system collecting rent by ach with verified bank accounts and reliable return handling. Of those, an insurance or lending platform disbursing funds to customer bank accounts where card payout fees would destroy the margin and a b2b marketplace collecting large invoice payments by bank transfer rather than paying interchange on cards are not what Griffin is typically brought in for.
What can Dwolla do that Griffin cannot?
Dwolla covers ACH transfers, Instant payments, Rail orchestration, Bank account verification. Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, UK payment rails, Integrated ledger, Automated onboarding.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Dwolla: What does Dwolla cost?

It does not publish anything. Pricing is custom and built around volume, rails and integration. Establish the monthly platform fee and any minimum before negotiating per-transaction rates.

Griffin: Is Griffin actually a bank?

Yes. It received a UK banking licence with restrictions in March 2023 and a full licence in March 2024 after exiting mobilisation.

Dwolla: Does it support instant payments?

Yes, through both the RTP network and the FedNow Service, with automatic selection based on the receiving bank. Where neither is supported, payments fall back to ACH.

Griffin: What does it cost?

Business banking from 100 pounds a month; platform banking from a 15,000 pound onboarding fee plus a 3,500 pound monthly minimum drawn down by usage.

Dwolla: Is Dwolla a bank?

No. It is a payments platform that works through banking partners. It does not offer deposit accounts or card issuing.

Griffin: Does it cover Europe?

No. Griffin is a UK bank serving UK accounts and UK payment rails.

Dwolla: How does bank account verification work?

Either instantly through open banking connections or by micro-deposit verification, which takes a day or two but works where instant linking fails.

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