Show HN: A simple API for validating bank routing numbers | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: A simple API for validating bank routing numbers

bankdata.io

9 pointsbcwood11 comments

Is this legal? The fed provides this data for free (http://www.fededirectory.frb.org/download.cfm) and also says, "The information contained in the directory may not be sold, relicensed, or otherwise used for commercial gain." Am I missing something?

I am also interested about this. I hope someone with enough legal background chimes in here.

Could the company claim that they are providing a service of programmatic access to that data? I mean there is added value here, so I don't see anything particularly wrong here, ethically speaking.

Well if they're charging for the service which uses data which says "The information contained in the directory may not be sold, relicensed, or otherwise used for commercial gain", it's hard to argue that they're NOT doing just that.

We're not pulling the data from the fed site, so there is no issue with the use of that data. We work with a group that maintains this data independently of the published fed directory.

Incorrect account numbers will be much more of a problem than ABA numbers, as there is no way to validate them and they vary from 5 digits to 16ish. Treat the account number like a password and have the payee enter it twice.

As far as bankdata.io I suggest if you want to keep your site, make it free. Accuity (owned by Fed) is the only entity that is authorized to sell the data (ask me how I know).

The routing number data is published daily @ http://www.fededirectory.frb.org/download.cfm . Be sure to use the "FedACH Participant RDFIs with commercial receipt volume" link. The first link is FedWire, that's not ACH routing numbers.

The list contains previous ABA numbers in case the billed parties bank changes their ABA (this happened to me last year when my bank changed it name). It can be very useful for recurring billing scenarios .

Also, you can catch most ABA issues with a MOD10 LUHN check, rather than a DB lookup.

My last word of advice... Checks can bounce for 30+ days after the transaction. Be prepared to handle this.

Yes, I've worked with Accuity before. They've very proud of their data, and charge an arm and a leg for it. We work with a group that maintains this data independently of the published fed directory.

Is this MVP? I find it odd that people would pay for access to an API which is just a front for a flat file.. Why not throw it in a local DB and call it directly? Are you adding more features or something?

This works too, don't need an API for that: https://gist.github.com/utkarsh2012/7b49dc06462007752d30

Interesting startup. However I am a bit worried because their site does not have an SSL certificate. Also there really is no about us on their site.

The site DOES have an SSL cert (https://bankdata.io). It doesn't force you over to https until you're on a page that actually requires it (signup, login, the API).

I got 'This site is currently not available...' when accessing the site.

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