Welcome to Real-Time Settlements (RTS)! This guide walks you through onboarding as a consumer: getting access to your account, accepting your contract, verifying your business, and connecting a payment source. Once these steps are complete, settlements run automatically.
Before you begin
- You'll need an RTS user account in your organization with permission to manage contracts, business verification, and payment sources (your organization's admin has this by default).
- Have your business details ready for verification: legal business name, business type, EIN, and the personal details (including SSN and date of birth) of your Controller and any owners holding 25% or more of the organization.
- To connect payments, have your business bank account details on hand — or your online banking login if you plan to connect instantly through Plaid.
Getting access to RTS
RTS accounts are created by invitation. When your organization is set up, you'll receive an email titled "You've been invited!" — click Accept Invitation, set a password, and click Create Account. The invitation link expires after 3 days; if yours has expired, ask your account admin (or your OBM contact) to resend it.
After your first sign-in you'll land on the dashboard. Two things to note:
- The Account Selection dropdown at the top shows which account you're working in — make sure your business is selected.
- Until your business is verified, a banner reads "Your business needs to be verified." — clicking it takes you straight to Business Verification (Step 2 below).
Step 1 — Accept your contract
Your energy supplier's REP creates the contract and sends it to you for review. Open Contracts in the left menu — a contract awaiting your review shows the status Pending Acceptance. Click its Contract ID to open it.
Review the full contract — parties, agreement period, TDSP and meter configuration, line items, and settlement terms. When everything checks out, scroll to Review & Accept, check the acknowledgment box, and click Accept Contract (1). A confirmation dialog reminds you that acceptance is final and binding; you can also Reject the contract, which notifies your supplier.
Settlement and billing don't begin until both parties have accepted the contract's terms.
Step 2 — Verify your business
Before you can add a payment method, your business must be verified — a one-time process handled by our payment partner, Dwolla. Open the settings menu (gear icon) in the top-right corner and choose Business Verification, or click the verification banner. Then click Complete Full Verification (2).
Fill out the verification form:
- Business Information — legal name, business type, EIN, and business address.
- Controller Information — the person responsible for overseeing the company's finances and compliance (e.g. CEO, CFO, General Partner, or President). Use their residential address — a business address or PO box will delay verification significantly.
- Beneficial Owner(s) — anyone owning 25% or more of the organization, including investors, venture capitalists, managing directors, or individual owners. If your Controller is also an owner, flip Use same information as controller to reuse their details. If no one holds 25% or more, check the box stating so instead.
Finally, complete the Certification checkboxes and click Save (3). Your information is transmitted to Dwolla encrypted and is never stored by OBM.
While Dwolla reviews your submission, the page shows "Account verification in progress" — this typically takes 24–48 hours. Check back here for the result; there's no separate approval email.
Once approved, the page shows a green Verified badge and you can move on to payments. If verification fails or additional documentation is needed (such as a driver's license, passport, or ID card), the page will show what's required — an Upload Documents option appears when a document has been requested.
Note: Some accounts are set up with KYB-Lite, a shorter verification form (name, business name, and email) that gets you started fastest. If that's your configuration, you'll see a Verify Your Business button instead, and you can upgrade to full verification at any time to unlock full account access.
Step 3 — Add a payment source
With verification complete, open settings (gear icon) → Payment Sources and click Add Payment Source (4). (The button stays disabled until your business verification has gone through — that's why Step 2 comes first.)
Choose how you'd like to transact:
- Connect a Bank Account — link your business bank account instantly through Plaid.
- Connect a Strike Account — connect your Strike account with an API key to fund RTS payments from your Strike balance.
- Manually Add an ACH Account — enter your bank details and verify the account with two micro-deposits. You can also use this option to connect your virtual Strike account.
Option A — Connect instantly with Plaid
Pick Connect a Bank Account, agree to the payment authorization, and click Connect with Plaid (5). In the Plaid window, choose your bank, sign in with your online banking credentials, and confirm the account. The account is verified instantly and is immediately available for payments.
Option B — Add an ACH account manually
Pick Manually Add an ACH Account and enter your bank's details, the account name and type, and the routing and account numbers. Confirm the authorization checkbox and click Add Account & Send Deposits (6).
We'll send two small deposits (between $0.01 and $0.10 each) to your account. They usually appear in your bank's transaction history within 1–2 business days, listed as coming from "Dwolla" or "RTS" — you'll also get an email when they've posted. Back on the Payment Sources page, click Verify Microdeposits, enter the two amounts, and click Verify Account (7). After 3 failed attempts, verification locks for 48 hours, so double-check the amounts.
You're all set
Your first verified bank account becomes your Primary Source — the account RTS uses for payments. You can add more sources later and change which one is primary from the same page.
With your contract accepted, your business verified, and a payment source connected, onboarding is complete: invoices are generated from your consumption and settled automatically against your primary payment source. You can follow along on the Dashboard and Transactions pages.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.