NAVICA

Clients Can Now Pay by Bank Without Logging In to Their Bank

Karbon Payments now verifies a US bank account from routing and account numbers alone. No bank login and no micro-deposits, so clients can set up bank transfer and pay in one sitting.

By Max Ducharme

Illustration of a dry-stone wall crossing a summer flower meadow, with one straight glowing line of light passing through an open timber gate.
Image generated with AI.

As of Karbon’s October 26, 2026 release.

What changed

Clients can now verify a US bank account in Karbon Payments with their routing and account numbers. Verification is instant. There is no bank login and no micro-deposit wait, so a client can set up bank transfer and pay the invoice at the same time.

Karbon’s Add Payment Method screen with the US bank account tab selected. A Link dialog titled Enter bank details asks for a routing number, an account number, and the account number again.

The option is easy to miss. On the payment screen, below the list of banks, there’s a small link: Enter bank details manually.

The US bank account tab on a payment form, with a bank search box and a grid of banks. An arrow and a box highlight the Enter bank details manually link below the grid.

What it changes day to day

Karbon’s bank login verification (still available) had two problems. Some clients balked because it felt like they were handing Karbon their bank login. And many banks don’t maintain their connection to the verification system, so a client whose bank wasn’t working had no way forward.

Either way, the conversation usually ended the same way: “I’ll just send a check.” I always waived the credit card surcharge just to avoid the check, which cost real money on every one of those invoices.

Manual ACH routing and account number entry removes both problems. Fewer checks, fewer waived surcharges, and a better client experience.

What I’d do

  • Make bank transfer the default you promote. It’s cheaper for the firm, and now it’s also the easiest option for the client.
  • Update your engagement and invoice language to say so.
  • Send the payment screenshot in your welcome packet to new clients or keep it handy to send to any client that gets stuck.
  • If you held off on Karbon Payments because early clients struggled with the bank login, that reason is gone.

One more thing it makes possible

If you have signed payment authorizations on file, you can now enter a client’s bank details for them. Add an internal email to the client’s profile, set it as the billing email, send the payment request to that address, and enter the routing and account numbers yourself.

Use at your own risk. I’m sharing this because it’s possible, not because I recommend it. I haven’t confirmed whether it fits Karbon’s terms of service or your payment processor’s, and I’m not your lawyer. If you try it, read the terms first and make your own call.

Brooks and I talk through this one in the October episode. More from this release: the October release roundup. Source: Karbon release notes, October 26, 2026.

Max Ducharme ran an accounting firm for five years. In that time, revenue more than doubled, and average revenue per employee rose from $89,000 to $150,000. He taught himself Python to build the integrations the firm needed. Today he builds tools that solve the problems accounting firms face now. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and co-hosts the Working Theory podcast.

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