Micro-Deposit Linking

Micro-deposits are used by financial institutions (including Wealthfront, in certain situations) to create an ACH relationship between two separate accounts so individuals can move money from one institution to another. 

We’ve optimized the ACH transfer process through electronic linking. However, there are institutions that do not support this method and can only be verified the old-fashioned way by using micro-deposits. If your financial institution does not support electronic linking, you will be prompted to start the micro-deposit verification process. You can also initiate this yourself on our website. 

There are three steps in the micro-deposit process at Wealthfront:

1. Send micro-deposits to your external (non-Wealthfront) account

2. Check your external account for the micro-deposit amounts from Wealthfront

3. Verify the micro-deposits on our website

Step 1: Sending micro-deposits to your bank

1. From our full website, select your name in the top right of the Dashboard
2. Select Accounts
3. Select +Add a new bank account under the Bank accounts enabled for transfer header
4. On the prompt to continue linking using Plaid, select the “x” in the top right corner
5. Select Enter account & routing number, then enter the routing number and account number for your external (non-Wealthfront) account and confirm the link.

Your external account will now be Pending, and no funds will be transferred until you complete steps #2 and #3 below.

Step 2: Checking for micro-deposits:

It will take at least one business day for your micro-deposits to arrive at your external account.

When the micro-deposits arrive, you’ll see two small deposits (each for less than $1) and one withdrawal of the micro-deposits. In the example below, the two micro-deposits are $0.39 and $0.35, and the one withdrawal (which you can ignore) is for $0.74.You must verify these deposits on our website within 10 business days before they expire. If they expire, you can simply request a new set of micro-deposits be sent again by restarting this process. 

If you do not see the micro-deposits within three business days, please contact your external institution directly.

Step 3: Verifying micro-deposits:

To verify your micro-deposits, please follow these steps on our website

1. Click on your name on the top right of your Dashboard
2. Select Accounts
3. Input your two micro-deposits under the Pending Bank Account Verification section and select Verify:

Once verified, you can use the account to transfer funds into or out of Wealthfront by clicking on Transfer money on the top of your dashboard or by selecting the two arrows on the bottom center of our app. Please note that verifying your micro-deposits will automatically initiate any pending deposits you already have scheduled. You can review your account to see if there are any pending transfers by clicking here: View scheduled transfers