An account is a bank account that stores either your money or your cardholder's money.

This guide discusses the information contained in the Account Object, the two types of accounts, and how to create and fund each type.

The Account Object

The Account Object contains information about the account (e.g., routing_number) and the money stored in the account (e.g., balance).

Account ID

The account_id uniquely identifies the cardholder's account. This identifier is used in all API requests regarding a particular account. It is for use only between you and Galileo; there is no reason to communicate this identifier to your Cardholder.

Account number

The account_number is used by other financial institutions to identify a cardholder's account. It is primarily used for ACH and wire transfers. Make this number available to your cardholders as it is useful for paying bills and receiving direct deposits.

Account type

The account_type specifies whether an account is a Master Funds Account, Spending Account, or ACH Account. See the Account Type enum for a list of possible values.

Balance

The balance tracks the amount of funds available for your cardholder to spend at any given time. It should always be up to date (allowing a couple of seconds for processing immediately after a transaction).

Creation date

The creation_date is the datetime recorded when the account was created.

Name

The name of the account may be Spending Account, Master Funds Account, or the name of the ACH account (e.g., Acme Bank - Checking).

Product ID

The product_id signifies which product the account belongs to. As accounts and cards inherit features from the product, the product_id is useful in determining account and card features. For example, if you want to know the color of a cardholder's card, you check the product_id of the account to which the card belongs and use the Dashboard to determine the card color for that product.

Routing Number

The routing_number is similar to the account_number, except it identifies the bank at which the account resides rather than the account itself. Make this number available to your cardholders.

Status

The status indicates the state of the account. See the Account Status enum for possible values. Note that needs_cip is a read-only status - it isn't possible to change a status to or from needs_cip.

Account types

There are three types of accounts: Master Funds Accounts, Spending Accounts, and ACH Accounts. Though each type of account has a different purpose, the common thread is they are each capable of holding and transferring money.

Master Funds Account

The Master Funds Account is your company's account associated with your Instant program. This account is used to transfer funds to your cardholders (e.g., account funding or a referral bonus) and to pay fees to Galileo (e.g., the account creation fee). Account information—including account number, routing number, and balance—is available from the Dashboard or via API. There is no card associated with the Master Funds Account.

Creation

A Sandbox version of the Master Funds Account is created automatically when you sign up through our Dashboard. This version is pre-loaded with faux money you can use to test your Instant program. A Production version of the Master Funds Account is created automatically when your program is approved for Production validation.

Funding

The Master Funds Account may be funded via ACH or wire transfer. Use the routing and account numbers, found in the Dashboard, to send money to the account.

Spending Account

A Spending Account is the primary DDA account associated with a cardholder. This account includes, by default, a debit card. Information about this account—including the routing number, account number, balance, and transactions—is available via API. High-level information, such as cardholder name and account balance, is available from our Dashboard.

Creation

A Spending Account is created automatically when a cardholder is created. After the cardholder is created, use the API to get the Spending Account.

A $5 creation fee is charged to your Master Funds Account each time a Spending Account is created.

Funding

You may fund a Spending Account by transferring money from your Master Funds Account, initiating an ACH debit from an ACH Account, sending money to the account via ACH credit, or sending a wire transfer to the account.

ACH Account

An ACH Account is an external bank account your Cardholder authenticates with Plaid from within your app. It may be used to transfer money to and from the Cardholder's Spending Account. Galileo doesn't track the balance of an ACH Account. Galileo doesn't keep a record of the Transactions of an ACH Account.

Creation

An ACH Account may only be created after the Cardholder's external account has been authenticated through Plaid.