Real estate has mastered the digital experience layer. What it has not mastered is the infrastructure underneath it.
More than four million homes changed hands in the United States last year, with median prices exceeding $400,000. That translates into trillions of dollars moving through a system that still depends on wires, checks, and manual reconciliation. While the customer journey feels modern, the movement of money remains outdated.
That disconnect is now one of the biggest constraints on innovation in real estate. And it is exactly where AI and modern payment platforms like Dwolla are driving change.
A Digital Experience Built on Analog Payments
The real estate transaction has been reimagined from the outside in. Buyers browse listings powered by algorithms, offers are submitted online, and documents are signed instantly.
But payments still operate outside of that experience.Â
Instead, funds move through disconnected systems, confirmation requires manual verification, and status visibility is limited or delayed. The result is a fragmented process where the most critical step, transferring money, is the least integrated.Â
AI is beginning to expose these inefficiencies. Analyzing transaction flows and operational bottlenecks reveals that payments play a central role in the user experience, which has often gone unnoticed. This information is crucial at a time when Deloitte has found that 70% of digital transformation efforts in traditional industries are costly and complex.
The Cost and Risk of Staying with Wires
Because of their familiarity, wire transfers have remained the default for high-value transactions in real estate. But they’re not optimal, adding expenses and risks to transactions.Â
Each wire requires manual setup, validation, and confirmation. Fees accumulate quickly across multiple parties, and, more importantly, fraud continues to rise. The FBI reported $446.1 million in losses tied to real estate wire fraud in 2022, with typical incidents resulting in losses large enough to derail entire transactions.
AI can help detect suspicious activity, flag anomalies, and reduce exposure. But even the most advanced models face a fundamental challenge: the infrastructure itself lacks design for today’s digital environment.
Dwolla’s approach addresses these challenges at the foundation by enabling secure bank payments that eliminate many of the vulnerabilities associated with wires while delivering a full audit trail and real-time status updates.
Earnest Money is a Small Step with Big Impact
Earnest money deposits are often the first financial milestone in a transaction. They signal intent and initiate momentum. Yet they are still slowed down by legacy processes. AI can enhance these processes by predicting settlement timelines and automating workflows, but it is the underlying payment infrastructure that unlocks real speed.
Checks introduce delays, and manual tracking increases operational overhead, which can hinder or end a deal. Dwolla’s infrastructure allows platforms to offer faster, digital-first payment options that align with the initiation of transactions. Instead of waiting days for funds to clear, payments can be confirmed quickly, keeping deals on track.
AI-Powered Orchestration Meets Modern Payment Rails
The future of real estate payments depends on flexibility and the ability to intelligently coordinate multiple options for all parties.
Different stages of a transaction require different capabilities. Some payments prioritize cost efficiency. Others require immediate confirmation, while some demand instant access to funds. AI can optimize decision-making by determining which payment method to use based on timing, cost, and risk, ensuring that each transaction is handled in the most efficient way possible.
Dwolla enables flexibility through a single API that connects multiple payment rails, allowing platforms to orchestrate payments without managing separate integrations.
The combination of orchestration and intelligence allows platforms to deliver fintech-level experiences without becoming fintech companies themselves.
Visibility is the New Standard
Traditional real estate transactions limit payment visibility. Participants often rely on confirmation emails or phone calls to verify that funds have arrived, but that uncertainty creates friction across the entire transaction.
Dwolla’s infrastructure provides real-time visibility into payment status from initiation through settlement. This transparency reduces the need for manual follow-ups and provides every participant confidence in the process.
Enhanced visibility into payment activity leads directly to improved cash flow predictability and operational efficiency. And with automation, real estate companies can predict delays and spot problems before they affect the transaction.
Proven Results in Real Estate
The impact of modern payment infrastructure is already visible.
Platforms using Dwolla have processed more than 120,000 earnest money deposits totaling $700 million with zero instances of fraud.
Other organizations have seen significant improvements in efficiency, transaction speed, and customer experience after integrating Dwolla’s API.
These are not incremental gains. They represent a fundamental shift in how money moves through real estate transactions.
Infrastructure Is the Competitive Edge
Digital closings are no longer defined by e-signatures or online workflows. They are defined by how seamlessly money moves from one party to another.
AI accelerates this transformation by enabling smarter systems and more adaptive processes, but infrastructure determines the realization of those capabilities.
Dwolla is at the center of this shift, providing the rails, orchestration, and visibility that modern real estate platforms require. By rethinking payment infrastructure, proptech companies can eliminate friction, reduce risk, and deliver experiences that match the expectations of a digital-first market.Â
In real estate, the transaction only closes when the money moves, and proptechs are finally realizing the value in reconstructing the methods of money movement.
