Narmi partners with GrailPay to Help Banks and Credit Unions Catch Bad Payments Before They Happen

Narmi, a digital banking, account opening, and instant payments platform for banks and credit unions, today announced a partnership with GrailPay, a risk and data network for bank payments. Through this partnership, Narmi is bringing a real-time payment check into its platform, powered by GrailPay's risk technology. The result gives Narmi's bank and credit union customers a clear read on whether a linked account is safe before a transaction happens.

Why this matters now

Payments used to take a few days to clear, which gave banks time to catch problems before money actually moved. That's changing fast. Same-day ACH, RTP, and FedNow now move money in seconds, and the fraud and risk tools most banks rely on haven't kept pace. Banks and credit unions are being asked to move faster without a reliable way to know they're moving money safely.

How the partnership works

GrailPay's technology closes this gap. When a customer opens an account, links an external bank account, or funds a new account through Narmi's platform, GrailPay checks in real time whether that account is real, active, and belongs to the person using it, before the bank accepts the money. The bank or credit union keeps full control over its own approval process. The experience their customers already use through Narmi doesn't change.

"Community financial institutions shouldn't have to choose between moving fast and moving safely,” said Chris Griffin, Co-Founder of Narmi. “We chose to partner with GrailPay because they've built best-in-class technology that allows us to continue delivering innovative financial solutions for our customers.”

"Every bank and credit union trying to move money faster is making a bet that they can do it without moving blind," said Will Messina, CEO of GrailPay. "This partnership means Narmi's customers get that safety check built into the platform they're already running on, powered by the network we've built to answer exactly that question."

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this partnership actually do for a bank or credit union using Narmi?

It matches the name on a linked bank account against the person opening it or moving money, something Narmi's platform did not previously offer on its own. That cuts down payment failures and fraud losses, and lets institutions move money faster.

Is this Narmi's technology or GrailPay's?

The risk check is built entirely on GrailPay's technology. Narmi is integrating it directly into its own platform so its bank and credit union customers can use it without adding a separate tool.

How is this different from existing account verification tools?

Most tools confirm an account exists. This checks whether a specific payment is safe to let through, in real time, before the money moves.

Does this replace or work alongside a bank's existing fraud and compliance systems?

It works alongside them. The bank or credit union keeps full control over its own approval process and thresholds.

Does GrailPay make the approve or decline decision, or does the bank still control that?

The bank or credit union always makes the final call. GrailPay provides the real-time risk information they use to make it.

What changes for Narmi's existing customers, in the product they already use?

Nothing about the day-to-day experience changes. The risk check runs in the background as part of the platform they already use.

How fast does the check happen, and does it slow down account opening or funding?

It happens in real time, at the moment an account is opened, linked, or funded, without adding delay to the process.

What types of payments does this cover?

Same-day ACH, RTP, wires, and FedNow are all covered, since these are the payment rails moving money fastest and where the risk gap is widest.

What is GrailPay, and how is it different from Narmi?

Narmi is a digital banking and payments platform that banks and credit unions use to run their operations. GrailPay is the risk and data network powering the real-time safety check inside that platform. They are separate companies, with GrailPay providing the technology behind this specific capability.