Deposit Accounts vs. Quote-Based Transfers

You can receive USD by wire and convert it to USDC in two ways: a quote-based transfer or a deposit account.

How It Works

What each option does.

Quote-based transfer: you get a quote and create a transfer first. Harbor gives you wire instructions with a narrative, a 10-digit code. The payer writes the narrative in the wire, and Harbor matches the payment to your transfer. See On-Ramp.
Deposit account: you create a dedicated bank account for a Customer once. The payer sends money to it whenever they want, with no reference. Harbor creates a transfer for each deposit. See Deposit Accounts.

Flow Comparison

The steps of each option.

%%{init: {"sequence": {"mirrorActors": false}}}%%
sequenceDiagram
    participant App as Your app
    participant Payer
    participant Harbor
    App->>Harbor: 1. Create the deposit account, once
    Harbor-->>App: 2. Bank details
    Payer->>Harbor: 3. Wire or ACH Push, no reference
    Harbor-->>App: 4. Transfer completed

Harbor finds the Customer by the account number, and creates the transfer. Steps 3 and 4 repeat for every deposit.

Differences

The main differences.

	Quote-Based Transfer	Deposit Account
Reference	A 10-digit narrative, required	None
Transfer	You create it first	Harbor creates it after the payment
Reuse	One transfer, one narrative	The account is reused for every deposit

Payment Instructions

The instructions you show the payer.

A narrative is a 10-digit code. The payer writes it in the reference field of the wire, so Harbor knows which transfer the money belongs to. The account name is OwlPay's, not the Customer's, so the narrative is the only way Harbor matches the payment.

{
  "bank_name": "FV Bank",
  "bank_address": "1234 Maple Lane, Springfield, IL 62704, USA",
  "routing_number": "987654321",
  "account_number": "123456789012",
  "account_holder_name": "OwlTing USA",
  "narrative": "5577010156"
}

A deposit account is a bank account with its own number, just for one Customer. The payer doesn't write any narrative.

{
  "bank_name": "Cross River Bank",
  "bank_address": "2115 Linwood Avenue, Fort Lee, NJ 07024",
  "routing_number": "021214891",
  "account_number": "9801234567",
  "account_holder_name": "John Doe"
}

When to Use Each

Which one to use.

Deposit account: the Customer pays often, or the payer can't add a reference.
Quote-based transfer: a one-off payment, or a Customer who can't have a deposit account.

Notes

Forgotten narrative: if the payer leaves out the narrative, Harbor can't match the wire to the transfer. The transfer stays unpaid and expires, and OwlPay Support reviews the payment.
Deposit accounts: they are available for verified US Customers. For other countries, contact your Account Manager.