Nowadays, linking bank accounts via apps to send and receive money is pretty easy. It’s a great way to make payments fast, share costs between friends and family, and generally arrange day-to-day banking.
But can you link a bank account without verification?
Verifying bank accounts is fairly commonplace. Verification processes exist to help protect users and recipients. Therefore, for the most part, it’s a given that you’ll likely need to confirm who you are before you start handling any money.
However, there may be help at hand – if you want to avoid any of the red tape, but still keep your transactions legal and safe. Keep reading, and I’ll show you how.
What is verification?
To link a bank account to any service, notably money transfer services like Wise, you usually have to undergo a verification process. This is simply to prove that the person sending or receiving money from and to a specific bank account is the person an app or service identifies.
Therefore, the person in question is usually required to prove their identity by providing the correct bank details, a form of ID, or a bill in their name.
Verification can be fairly simple. In time, it’s easy enough to log into banking services, for example, by providing a short verification code you receive via smartphone. However, for many people, leaping through verification hoops can provide quite a few headaches.
Why is verification important?
Crucially, verification prevents fraud. When you verify a transaction, you’re ensuring that it’s you and you who authorize it. Without verification, banks and money transfer apps would have no way of telling who’s logging in and sending cash!
However annoying it may seem, account verification is very important and is in your best interest. That said – and as I teased earlier – there may be a workaround solution you can use while still handling money legally and still keeping your finances secure.
Is it possible to link a bank account without verification?
As it happens, you can easily link a bank account without going through the verification process. That being said, do note that not all apps, banks, or transfer services will allow this. Those that do will likely limit the amount of money you can transfer at any given time.
Moreover, further restrictions may apply. For example, a service may only allow you to make transfers regionally.
But, don’t lose heart – check out my step-by-step guide to linking banks without verification admin below.
How to link your bank account without verification
To link bank accounts without verification, you will first need to know how to link bank accounts between different providers. The advice below, I must also add, is only generic – meaning the way some of these details and options present in your chosen apps or online banking accounts can and will vary.
Here are a few general steps to help point you in the right direction.
- Start by logging into your bank app or website. Then, go to transfer funds, and select an option similar to “Add New Account”.
- Then, enter in the bank’s name you’d like to link, its location, account number, and routing number.
- When you have finished entering the information, you will likely be redirected to a verification window, where you will be asked to enter a code sent to you, either on your phone or via email.
- Once you have entered the code, the two accounts should link automatically.
To link a bank account without verification, you can simply head to your bank’s app or website, log into your account, and head to its equivalent of a “Settings” section. Here, you’ll need to head to “Security” and find “Two-way Verification,” or “2FA”. You should ideally disable this if you can.
Again, this option isn’t necessarily available on all bank apps. If your bank app doesn’t have such an option, you will need to manually disable the two-way verification by contacting your bank directly. Some will ask for a reason, and others may even ask for written confirmation before any activity occurs.
Always check with your bank or money provider before linking bank accounts up. In my experience, it’s normally best to try and link up your accounts with full verification. In fact, verification is there to protect you – keep it switched on if you can help it.
Before You Go…
Along the lines of linking a bank account without verification, if you want to transfer money without verification, you can do so in many cases. Do check out the article and hope you find it useful!
FAQs
Why would you want to link bank accounts?
Linking bank accounts is a great way to help make bank transfers more efficient. It may also help you balance your finances a little easier. For example, if you are in an unarranged overdraft, but your savings and checking accounts are linked, you can easily transfer money from one to another to get your figures straight.
Is it safe to link bank accounts?
Yes, it is perfectly safe to link bank accounts. However, verifying is a great way to make the link much safer for yourself and your money! Always link bank accounts through apps or online account services you know and trust. Never click on any links you receive in emails – you may fall prey to a phishing scam.