Safety and Security

Relay is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. FDIC Insurance is available up to $3M for funds on deposit through Thread Bank, Member FDIC. ²

Small businesses on Relay can rest easy knowing that we uphold the highest standards of data security and protection.

Relay is SOC 2 Type II (System and Organization Controls) certified by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) standards for Service Organizations. 

This industry-recognized certification means that Relay provides enterprise-level security to protect our customers and their data. This is true across all dimensions of our platform and business, including our software, data, policies, procedures, people, operations, and more.

For more on our SOC 2 certification and our platform security, check out Trust Center.

Under the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. financial institutions must verify that their customers are who they say they are; this is called the Customer Identification Program. The program exists to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. It’s an added tool for financial institutions to prevent fraud and protect American consumers. 

When new customers sign up for Relay, we request information to verify their identity (e.g. name, date of birth, SSN, EIN, etc.) before their account is approved. This is a legal requirement for all financial institutions to prevent money laundering and fraud.

About 92% of all complete account applications submitted to Relay are approved. We approve applications that include all the requested information, so that we can confirm they are legitimate and non-fraudulent. In uncommon cases, we may request additional documents to verify an applicant's identity.

A Request for Information (RFI) is a standard industry protocol whereby a financial institution asks the consumer for more details on a transaction to verify its legitimacy. RFIs protect consumers from fraud by giving them the chance to share information to validate legitimate transactions, or dispute fraudulent ones.

Relay conducts RFIs via an email note. We will always include a clear ask and explanation. We will also offer a response deadline (minimum one business day). Fewer than one percent of all transactions on Relay receive an RFI.

When we don’t hear back in time, we may freeze the account to block potentially fraudulent transactions. When we identify a fraudulent transaction, we close the account, and post a check for any outstanding balance address on file. Relay will never close an account without first requesting more information to verify a transaction. We will also never keep the outstanding balance of a closed account.

No. Relay will never close an account without first warning the customer or requesting more information to verify a transaction. We will also never keep the outstanding balance of a closed account.

Relay conducts RFIs via an email note. We will always include a clear ask and explanation. We will also offer a response deadline (minimum one business day).

When we don’t hear back in time, we will freeze the account to block potentially fraudulent transactions. When we deem a transaction to be fraudulent, we will close the account. The specific account closure timeline depends on the type of transaction. When we close the account, we will post a check for any outstanding balance to the business address provided.

Yes. Relay has a dedicated Account Protection Team (APT) that is on-call to handle each individual account security and fraud prevention case with deep care and consideration.

This team of highly experienced specialists have sharpened our fraud detection accuracy, and enabled faster turnaround times to investigate and clear cases where no fraud has occurred.

The APT is available to review, respond to, and resolve all customer inquiries about Relay’s security and compliance actions, so customers are supported and informed every step of the way.

Get in touch with us at: support@relayfi.com.