“Convenience is key in today’s fast-paced, technology-oriented world. With peer-to-peer (P2P) service apps like PayPal and Venmo offering simple ways to make digital transactions, it’s not much of a surprise that they’ve grown in popularity. Today, more than 8 in 10 (84%) consumers say they’ve used a P2P service.  But P2P apps don’t come without risks. Some users are losing money through mistakes and scams — and the most frequent users are at an increased risk, according to the latest LendingTree survey of nearly 1,200 U.S. consumers. Keep reading for more on what consumers know about P2P service liability, and how users can better protect their transactions.”

“Should Zelle be used for retail payment? It already is! There is a pressure in a number of markets to look at the use of account-to-account (A2A) payments for retail transactions, bypassing traditional card payments by allowing payments to go directly from consumer bank accounts to retailer and service provider bank accounts. In the US, for example, stakeholders are beginning to look at whether to extend Zelle in this direction. Zelle continues to grow strongly (Bank of America BAC -1.4% customers made more Zelle transactions than wrote paper checks for the first time ever last year) and it is therefore no surprise that discussions are heating up. (According to the Wall Street Journal, Wells Fargo WFC -1.8% and Bank of America are in favour of expanding into retail while JPMorgan is not convinced the time is right.)”

“Zelle has become a victim of its own success. As the peer-to-peer payments service’s popularity booms, stories about fraud and scams that target Zelle users have grown rapidly with it. Fraud associated with the bank-owned Zelle network stood out in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s review of payment platforms last fall, and a new wave of Zelle scams accelerated this year.”

“Royal Bank of Canada has added a feature to its app that lets customers divide the cost of an expense amongst a number of contacts, request the money and track who’s paid. RBC says it has seen a big change in how Canadians move money over the last two years, with the monthly volume of e-transfers sent by customers up by 74% since the beginning of the pandemic.”

“Al Ko, CEO of Zelle’s operator, Early Warning, said the “overwhelming majority” of Zelle’s payments are P2P, but more businesses are starting to use the service: Zelle payments received by small businesses increased 162% YoY in 2021. And Zelle’s average transaction size for Q4 2021 was $272, indicating more small business payments. To further its growth in the segment, Zelle plans to roll out a QR code feature being piloted that lets users easily pay businesses.”

“Cross River Bank is joining forces with fintech PayTile to deliver a peer-to-peer payments app that uses geo-location technology. Powered by Cross River, PayTile’s P2P product is aiming to bring digital payments to areas where physical cash still dominates, such as tipping a valet or shopping at the farmers market.”

“Adopting Zelle was never a consideration for Reading Cooperative. Industry observers say Zelle — owned by several large banks — charges banks 45 cents to 90 cents per transaction with low-volume, smaller financial institutions paying the higher fees. Chuck enables users to initiate P2P payments through a variety of methods the bank chooses, from ACH to Venmo — with plans to eventually add FedNow — for half or less of the per-transaction cost of Zelle, Chuck’s participants say. FedNow, set to roll out in 2023, is a new instant payments service the Federal Reserve Banks are developing.”

“Today, Venmo introduced a new way for customers to gift money to friends and family for any occasion big or small through its new gift-wrapping feature. Beginning to roll out today, Venmo’s latest feature gives customers access to eight unique and vibrant animated gift-wrap designs that can be added to a payment note.”

“As of Jan. 1, mobile payment apps like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle and Cash App are required to report commercial transactions totaling more than $600 per year to the Internal Revenue Service. The change to the tax code was signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, the Covid-19 response bill passed in March.  Previously, these mobile payment apps only had to tell the tax authorities when a person had over 200 commercial transactions per year that exceeded $20,000 in total value, the IRS said .”

“Rather than compete directly with Zelle and other peer-to-peer payment networks, the recently launched CHUCK network plans to position itself as a P2P network that eases money transfers for users, officials say. One such feature in the works is the ability for users to create a directory of destinations to allow faster transactions when money is sent to specific individuals. For example, if John Smith typically sends money to Jane Doe’s crypto wallet, that information can be stored and automatically invoked to send future payments to Jane Doe, according to Jason Henrichs, chief executive of Alloy Labs Alliance, a consortium of community and mid-size banks.”

“Bank of America is the first financial institution to roll out a Zelle widget, cutting the steps required to send or request funds through the peer-to-peer payments service on mobile devices. The move could give BofA an edge among consumers who primarily access banking and payments from their phones, though other Zelle banks are likely to follow with widgets of their own.”

“The four Irish banks seeking to set up a money-transfer app to rival Revolut have raised an additional €5 million to fund the venture. Documents filed on Friday with the Companies Registration Office show that AIB , Bank of Ireland , Permanent TSB and KBC Bank Ireland committed more capital to the new entity, Synch Payments. The four Irish banks seeking to set up a money-transfer app to rival Revolut have raised an additional €5 million to fund the venture…The joint venture aims to deliver a payment app that will enable users to send and make payments in real time, one that will take on challenger banks such as Revolut, Zumo and Germany’s N26. The initial phase is expected to focus on consumer-to-consumer payments.”

“WhatsApp may be preparing to introduce its peer-to-peer payment system in the U.S., according to code found in the latest app beta. XDA-Developers found code in WhatsApp beta version 2.21.23.10 that points directly to Novi integration and payment transactions. This corroborates similar findings by WABetaInfo late last month, which also showed evidence of Novi integration and even managed to show off what it might look like.”

“Yesterday, Chipper, one of the fastest growing African fintech start-ups that facilitates free peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers and instant cross-border payments in Africa, officially launched Chipper Cash to offer domestic P2P money transfers in South Africa. Chipper Cash will enable South Africans to enjoy free unlimited instant domestic money transfers, invest in cryptocurrencies, and buy and send airtime and data to anyone.”

“Bank-operated peer-to-peer (P2P) payments network Zelle processed 436 million transactions worth $120 billion in Q2 . The number of transactions processed increased 58% year over year (YoY), and payment value rose 68% YoY. Compared with Q2 2019, Zelle’s transaction volume surged 155%, and its payment values exploded 172%—reflecting just how rapidly digital payments grew during the pandemic. The company also highlighted small businesses as a key growth area in Q2: The segment’s transaction volume grew 157% YoY.”

“Venmo is ditching its global social feed, making it so users can no longer see payments between people they don’t know. The app, owned by PayPal Holdings Inc. , will continue to allow users to see transactions among their friends, according to a blog post Tuesday. The move comes after Venmo has seen its customer base swell to 70 million during the pandemic.”

“Payveris, the fastest-growing money movement provider in fintech, announced today that its MoveMoney Platform now delivers a real-time P2P solution that rivals Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App.  The new service enables financial institutions’ customers to instantly send money to anyone with a U.S. bank or credit union account using the recipient’s mobile phone number or email address—no special app required. The platform offers financial institutions a truly frictionless solution that supports their customers’ journeys to financial freedom.”

“Complaints against some digital payment services and apps like Venmo , Cash App or Zelle are skyrocketing, according to a troubling new report.   Nonprofit U.S. Public Interest Research Group [PIRG] says top issues include scams, trouble using accounts and poor customer service. The group analyzed more than 9,200 complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2017 to April of 2021.  The report found more than 2,700 complaints were made from January to April of this year — compared to just over 600 in the same period last year.”

“The rollout of Facebook’s QR code-based payment service turns its Messenger platform into an open payment network, but may struggle to pull users away from popular alternatives like Venmo and Zelle. Unlike previous iterations of Messenger payments, the new system does not require users to be connected on its social network. Instead, it creates a QR code or a payment link in the Messenger app and ties into Facebook Pay, which launched in 2019. Facebook initiates the payments immediately, but it could take up to five days for the funds to post to a bank account from a linked debit card or PayPal account. The service’s biggest draw is that it’s already baked into the systems Facebook operates. If successful, it could expand throughout Facebook’s social network and Marketplace.”

“Part of the funding for President Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan hinges on a beefed-up reporting requirement for banks designed to identify unreported income. The proposal would require banks to report annual account inflows and outflows to the Internal Revenue Service. The requirement would also extend to peer-to-peer payment services such as Venmo but wouldn’t require individuals and businesses to report any additional information to the government, according to people familiar with the plan. Financial institutions already must report interest, dividend and investment income, and the IRS can get bank information during audits.”

“Apiture , a leading cloud-native provider of digital banking solutions, today announced a partnership with Zelle®, a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments service, to provide financial institutions with a best-in-class, high-speed payments solution…The partnership between Apiture and Zelle® enables a streamlined and enhanced experience for Apiture customers. Apiture Xpress is an established platform that has been serving leading financial institutions for more than 20 years, helping them to create a fully integrated digital bank. This embedded capability provides clients with a secure, seamless and efficient way to send and receive payments through their digital banking applications.”

“Eftpos has launched a digital payments capability to facilitate peer-to-peer (P2P) real-time transactions. The service is a deposit and withdrawal messaging capability so users can make payments from their accounts using Eftpos between Australian debit cardholders “in seconds”. The payment service has initially been launched on payment app Beem It , which it bought in November from its former owners the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and Westpac.”

“Joompay , a startup with an iOS and Android app similar to Venmo and TransferWise, has now launched in Europe after obtaining a Luxembourg Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. The app allows people to send and receive money with anyone, instantly and for free.”

“MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI ), a global leader in cross-border P2P payments and money transfers, today announced the expansion of its Visa debit card deposit service across Europe. The expansion has launched in collaboration with Checkout.com, a leading global payment solution provider, utilizing Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time push payments platform. MoneyGram customers can now use the Company’s website or leading mobile app to send money in near real-time to Visa debit card holders across 575 corridors from 25 countries in Europe.”

“The holidays may look a little different this year, but U.S. Bank is giving customers a way to spread goodwill and festive cheer with eCards, now available to U.S. Bank customers when they send money with Zelle® in the U.S. Bank Mobile App. The eCards, launched in collaboration with Zelle and fintech startup Vouchr, provide gift senders with a choice of more than 200 card designs including not only holiday but also birthday, graduation, a simple thanks or congratulations, and more.”