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Create an account

Creates a new account for a unique entity, either ach or liability, based on the parameters provided. An account is a unique representation of an ach or liability account.

Collecting a liability's account number

Due to the sensitive nature of a liability's account number, we recommend collecting the account number from your end-user using one of the secure pathways below.
  • 💡 Method Data - you can automatically retrieve all of an entity's liabilities using Method Data. See the retrieve an entity's debts guide to learn more.
  • ⚡ API - You will need the merchant id (mch_id) and the account number of the liability.
Creating a liability account will automatically validate the account number with the merchant in order to lower the risk of failed/returned payments

ACH account verification

Creating an ach account will require an additional step for verification to confirm the validity of the account. See ACH account verification.

Parameters

holder_id

string
The id of the Entity who is the legal holder of this account.

Required

ach

object
ACH account information

Optional

ach.routing

string
ABA routing number of the ACH account. (maximum of 9 characters).

Required

ach.number

string
Account number of the ACH account. (maximum of 17 characters).

Required

ach.type

enum
Type of ACH account
Possible enum values

checking

savings

Required

liability

object
Liability account information.

Optional

liability.mch_id

string
Unique identifier of the merchant.

Required

liability.number

string
The account number of the liability. (e.g. PAN for credit cards, Payment ref for student loans)

Required

Returns

Returns an account object.

ACH

POST /accounts
curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "holder_id": "ent_y1a9e1fbnJ1f3",
    "ach": {
      "routing": "367537407",
      "number": "57838927",
      "type": "checking"
    }
  }'
RESPONSE
{
  "id": "acc_b9q2XVAnNFbp3",
  "holder_id": "ent_y1a9e1fbnJ1f3",
  "type": "ach",
  "ach": {
    "routing": "367537407",
    "number": "57838927",
    "type": "checking"
  },
  "liability": null,
  "clearing": null,
  "metadata": null,
  "status": "active",
  "capabilities": [
    "payments:receive"
  ],
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2020-12-09T00:40:51.107Z",
  "updated_at": "2020-12-09T00:40:51.107Z"
}

Liability

POST /accounts
curl https://production.methodfi.com/accounts \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "holder_id": "ent_au22b1fbFJbp8",
    "liability": {
      "mch_id": "mch_2",
      "number": "1122334455"
    }
  }'
RESPONSE
{
  "id": "acc_Zc4F2aTLt8CBt",
  "holder_id": "ent_au22b1fbFJbp8",
  "type": "liability",
  "ach": null,
  "liability": {
    "mch_id": "mch_2",
    "mask": "4455",
    "type": "student_loan",
    "payment_status": "active",
    "data_status": "active",
    "data_last_successful_sync": "2022-06-14T15:13:02.546Z",
    "data_status_error": null,
    "data_source": "financial_institution",
    "data_updated_at": "2023-01-22T01:23:36.047Z",
    "ownership": "primary",
    "student_loan": {
      "name": "FedLoan Student Loan",
      "sub_type": "federal",
      "sequence": 6,
      "balance": 1952634,
      "original_loan_amount": null,
      "last_payment_amount": 1150,
      "last_payment_date": "2022-04-22",
      "next_payment_due_date": "2022-10-28",
      "next_payment_minimum_amount": 0,
      "disbursed_at": "2018-01-22",
      "interest_rate_percentage": 3.4,
      "interest_rate_type": "fixed",
      "interest_rate_source": "financial_institution",
      "delinquent_status": null,
      "delinquent_amount": null,
      "delinquent_period": null,
      "delinquent_action": null,
      "delinquent_start_date": null,
      "delinquent_major_start_date": null,
      "delinquent_status_updated_at": null,
      "delinquent_history": []
    }
  },
  "clearing": null,
  "metadata": null,
  "status": "active",
  "capabilities": [
    "payments:receive",
    "data:sync"
  ],
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2020-12-09T02:56:19.548Z",
  "updated_at": "2020-12-09T02:56:19.548Z"
}