NMI Buys Dwolla to Expand Account-to-Account Payment Infrastructure

Embedded payments infrastructure company NMI has bought account-to-account payment provider Dwolla in a move to bolster its pay-by-bank offerings.

The transaction, unveiled Tuesday (May 19), brings together NMI's payment acceptance backbone, channel distribution network, and merchant management operations with Dwolla's infrastructure for account-to-account transfers, real-time payments, and open banking.

The acquisition advances NMI's strategy to deliver a comprehensive white-label embedded payments platform for channel and enterprise partners, according to Steve Pinado, the company's chief executive.

Dwolla gives us modern, API-first A2A infrastructure that strengthens our ability to help businesses accept, manage and move money across more use cases and more rails. It also gives NMI a stronger foundation to participate in the next generation of money movement, including agentic payments, stablecoin-enabled settlement, remittances and other emerging payment models.

The move positions NMI to compete in rapidly evolving payment models beyond traditional card-based transactions.

Account-to-account payments are gaining traction worldwide as businesses and consumers demand faster, more flexible ways to transfer funds. Research cited by NMI projects that global A2A transaction value will climb to $195 trillion by 2030, more than double the $91.5 trillion recorded last year.

Real-time payment systems are a key driver of this expansion, creating pressure for companies embedding payments into their products to support multiple rails, accelerated payouts, and enhanced visibility.

Dwolla was built to help businesses operate bank payments at scale through an API-first infrastructure layer that unifies ACH and real-time rails while standardizing status, exception handling and reporting.

NMI will maintain support for Dwolla's current customers and partners as it folds Dwolla's technology into its platform. Approximately 60 Dwolla employees are joining NMI, with Dave Glaser, Dwolla's chief executive, taking the role of chief operating officer at the combined company.

By joining NMI, we can bring those capabilities to a broader ecosystem of partners, while giving Dwolla customers access to NMI's omnichannel payment acceptance capabilities, through a single, flexible, white-label platform.

The deal reinforces NMI's positioning as an enabler of embedded payments across a wide range of use cases, allowing partners to select the functions they require while NMI manages the underlying infrastructure.

Pinado previously highlighted artificial intelligence's expanding role in enhancing both operational efficiency and customer experience at the company.

We will be heavy AI users in every way we can across every function of the business. If you're not taking advantage of it and really, really in a focused way deploying inside your business, it's a threat.