BuildWallet & Sila
Flipping the Payment Process in Construction Contracts
Sila circumnavigates red tape for us. Historically, ACH would require state to state money transfer licenses, and would take days instead of minutes to complete.
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BuildWallet & Sila:
At a Glance
Leveraging Sila’s Wallet API and programmable money, BuildWallet helps streamline the unnecessarily complicated financials of construction projects, helping flippers, contractors, and homeowners manage projects remotely, increasing productivity and speeding up timelines
Sila’s sophisticated technology helped BuildWallet turn their spreadsheets into a powerful budgeting and project management app for house flippers.
BuildWallet saw two options: become a bank agent or partner with a powerful bank agent like Sila. Now BuildWallet has access to Sila’s expertise in cross-state financial compliance.
Sila’s fintech marketplace allowed the BuildWallet app to add and expand its service offerings easily, eliminating the need for complicated connectivity in the banking world.
The Goal
As independent contractors, Harris and Huerta were dragging their project-specific checkbooks from house to house to resolve payment. However, every week they sat down to see how they could improve their work processes. They started with a spreadsheet that consolidated their resources, including a directory of their subcontractors. The duo built this process and directory and realized that they still had to solve the cash flow problem.
The cash flow piece really tied it all together. Harris and Huerta saw the opportunity to fix the flow from the lender to the investor to the general contractor to the subcontractor. Wouldn’t it be cool for the lender to pay the subcontractor directly?
To make this process easy, they found that Sila could act as their payment partner to schedule and directly distribute money to general contractors and subcontractors. That’s only possible through the digitization and tokenization of funds flow through Sila. #PoweredbySila
Navigating the complex world of financial regulations is extremely challenging. Luckily, with Sila on their side, they found they were well equipped to manage the financial technological, and regulatory requirements. Not only that, but Sila helped them to navigate complex regulations in the U.S. for money transfer and provide future-proofing through programmable money.
From carrying multiple checkbooks and debit cards around to various projects, the construction duo turned a brainstorming session into a brilliant idea. Now, the BuildWallet app can be used by construction projects everywhere to revolutionize payment flows in this industry.
With BuildWallet, you can track your construction project and facilitate far easier money transfers. Sellers/lenders can easily pay subcontractors directly through the programmable money app. Each Sila-powered wallet is dedicated to a specific project that the client would fund. The general contractor never has to see the money, and it can be transferred directly to the subcontractors doing the job.
Not only does this app simplify payments in this industry, but it also streamlines project management and speeds up the timelines. For once, contractors and subcontractors don’t have to worry about whether or not they will get paid. Instead, they can come in and complete the project with confidence, and provide proof of work pictures remotely, to secure payment.
Without Sila
- Becoming a bank agent, which costs thousands of dollars and years to do
- Worrying about how they will sell the value of their product and future-proof it knowing that they need certain features, like programmable money
- Managing compliance across multiple state boundaries
- Building an app with bank account linking and FDIC-insured bank account for streamlined project management
- Spending so much money and time trying to think outside of the box
With Sila
- Partnering with Sila, and gaining instant access to Sila’s powerful money payment API architecture
- Have access to Sila’s fintech marketplace and programmable money at the start, so they know exactly how and when they can scale
- Relying on Sila’s expertise in compliance, even across U.S. state borders
- Having access to Sila’s powerful API technology, and partnerships that facilitate bank account linking
- Saving money, time, and sanity by purchasing Sila’s ready-made out-of-the-box solution
A new financial world, built by you.
Sila offers a simple, secure, and scalable banking API to make money programmable with built-in regulatory compliance.
The Results
BuildWallet eliminates the need to set up a different bank account for every project. Instead, the client funds the digital bank wallet and the money can be programmed to pay the general contractors and subcontractors when appropriate tasks are completed. No longer do general contractors need to go to job sites constantly. The money is managed from a simple, dedicated banking app.
And funds compliance is built into the core technology. A lot of the issue in moving money to the online world involves complicated state-to-state regulations. BuildWallet utilized Sila’s expertise to be able to provide this service for their customers no matter where the money was going.
BuildWallet isn’t prefunding it’s advanced budgeting. Verification through Geotech photos preclude anyone from using the money until the work is executed. Non-contact real estate transactions mean that more projects can be on the go at once. Goetech photos can be submitted as proof of work and subcontractors can be paid virtually instantly.
Because BuildWallet chose Sila as their partner, they have the ability not only to provide an amazing product but to also think about the future.
- Subcontractors could end up getting paid in crypto if they wanted to.
- Right now, payment is transferred to a bank, but in the future, they could get it at a cashpoint or a pick-up spot outside of the country. It can be used to directly supplement tool and gas purchases too.
- BuildWallet has the potential to add in card issuance as well, providing more solutions based on the needs of the project.
BuildWallet solves a huge problem in the construction industry. Now, anyone involved in a single construction project can use the connected BuildWallet app and know where they are at.
No more stressing about financial transfers and what’s going on behind the scenes. This powerful yet simple solution makes projects move seamlessly, faster, and far more efficiently than what was done in the past.
Result 1
By using a dedicated digital wallet, general contractors can’t spend more than what has been allotted or budgeted, eliminating projects and spend creep. Owners, lenders, and workers can all see the project progress through the app, giving more trust to the project flow and progression. Their app takes away the complications of bank transfers and replaces it with ease of use.
Result 2
No one person needs to be in charge of the money process, and the owners can easily fund the project or check the progress. General contractors don't have to pay the cashflow game and subcontractors see guaranteed payments. BuildWallet owners also wanted an app that could be used across state lines. Using Sila’s built-in compliance features, they were able to offer bank-to-bank transfers even across state lines.
Result 3
Using the proven templates, the BuildWallet App helps general contractors and flippers plan with confidence. Projects can be simply funded directly in the app, and the cash flow managed from one point of reference. End-to-end digital payments mean that general contractors can spend more time managing the quality of their work rather than focusing on payment worries.
Result 4
Almost all general contractors and subcontractors were extremely receptive to BuildWallet and saw that it was a much-needed piece of technology in their market. Knowing that the money was guaranteed made the project much easier. Subcontractors could easily get in and get the work done. Now they no longer have to manage the owner’s cash flow and that of their company.
A new financial world, built by you.
Sila offers a simple, secure, and scalable banking API to make money programmable with built-in regulatory compliance.