US Banks Launching Answer To Peer-To-Peer Payment App Venmo (reuters.com) 43
The U.S. banking industry is about to launch its answer to the popular mobile payments app Venmo. "Over the next week, five of the largest U.S. banks will light up their segments of a new payments network called Zelle, executives said in interviews," reports Reuters. "They plan to announce details of the launch on Monday, and expect another two dozen banks and credit unions to join over the next year." From the report: The long-awaited network will allow tens of millions of bank customers to send money to each other instantly - known as person-to-person payments - with a few taps on their smartphones. That is an improvement over Venmo, which immediately alerts users that a money transfer is in progress, but takes time to shift funds between bank accounts. Customers who use existing bank payment apps may not notice much of a change beyond marketing. Transfers will simply happen faster because the banks are finally linking to each other, executives said. JPMorgan, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co, U.S. Bancorp and Capital One Financial Corp will be the first to plug into Zelle.
the first hit is free (Score:4)
Re: the first hit is free (Score:1)
what is the fee for this? (Score:2)
what is the fee for this?
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Re: what is the fee for this? (Score:1)
Venmo has no fee and it's instant to send money, but pulling money out takes one business day. There is no way they try to put a fee on this. Chase quickpay has been around for a while now, I just hope this is actually instant instead of the few hours "quickpay" takes.
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Only way this wins over venmo is if:
- Transfers between bank accounts happen truly instantly, i.e. no ACH waiting, and completes within one minute. This is 2017 god dammit.
- No need for it to "clear" on the other end. If the sender's funds aren't available, then they just can't fucking send it. So this means no possibility of scamming in a manner similar to check kiting.
- A process available to get money back if it's a scammer (i.e. make western union or moneygram style fraud impossible.)
Re:what is the fee for this? (Score:4, Informative)
They may never be able to charge for this, just like they've never been able to charge monthly account fees for checking accounts. But like checking accounts, they probably will attach strings to the service, like, you have to have a recurring direct deposit every month.
The main reason they can't ever charge outright is competition. There will always be another bank that will make it free.
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Not every bank gives free checking, most of the ones that do have stipulations attached to that. Free checking didn't even become a thing until the 80's when deregulation occurred that allowed for that and for checking accounts to yield interest.
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It's true that not every bank offers free checking. But if you're a customer of one of those banks, it's time to shop around, because there are plenty of banks that do.
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> just like they've never been able to charge monthly account fees for checking accounts.
You've been under a rock for too long. Most banks will charge you monthly fees just for the privilege of having an account, unless you jump through some hoops for them. (higher balances, having a loan through their bank, etc)
I look forward to the day that I can dump my bank and handle my money with direct transfers. (I haven't set foot in a bank branch in years. They don't have anything I need.) Now that I think a
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If you're paying bank fees, I'd say you need to start shopping around! There are way too many free choices out there, to be stuck paying fees. I haven't paid account fees for decades.
Amazing they took this long (Score:3)
I can't believe it never occurred to a lot of executives in the commercial banking sector to do this. It would be a great way to make PayPal-like income without having to go through the credit card process. If they set up a system where you could define like 5 people where no fees would apply for personal transactions, it would be a hit with families.
Re:Amazing they took this long (Score:5, Insightful)
The US banking sector is way behind what is available in most European countries.
For years, people in the UK have been able to make payments direct (and near instantaneous) to another bank account with no fees.
The simple fact is that all the alternative payment methods involve costs that the banks must absorb. A simple and highly automated, customer-driven payments system reduces the banks' costs. This type of system is a win for banks even if there are no fees involved.
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They really don't, unless you've been drinking all the Putinbot kool-aid that's been pissed into Slashdot a whole hell of a lot more lately since the election cycle.
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For non-commercial transactions, Venmo is already free. So it's a hit with everybody, not just with families. And you're much more likely to have someone in your circle of friends suggesting that you install that application if you can use it for ALL your friends and family.
That being said, that new service is not competing directly with Venmo. I believe it's really competing with existing wire transfers. The fact that their transactions will be near-instantaneous (and therefore probably incontestable) may
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That being said, that new service is not competing directly with Venmo. I believe it's really competing with existing wire transfers.
This is directly competing with Venmo, Google Wallet, PayPal, etc. The whole idea is all you need to know is someone's mobile number or email address and you can send them money. Their website even gives the example of splitting a check at a restaurant, which is a very common use for Venmo.
Name the 5 least Trustworty Banks in the USA (Score:2)
What is the catch with Venmo? (Score:4, Informative)
On the privacy side of things, they get your Facebook credentials and the accounts you relate to in Facebook (let me not call them "friends"). They may use the information to promote other products to you. And you may publish all of your transactions online or just let the people you know know, for whatever reason you can think of.
So far, I only see the 3% fee on credit cards. The held funds do not "typically" give the Company any interests, although they have the right to do so. I might have missed something on the privacy side of things. Is what I listed all the revenue that Venmo gets? Seems somewhat low.
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Sounds just as bad as vanilla Paypal.
Banks are for suckers (Score:2)
Re:Banks are for suckers (CU's aren't any better) (Score:2)
Credit unions sound nice and all, but I've found that for even basic services the staff is incompetent.
- There's a credit union I use that I can't login to their on-line site. Every time I reset the password, it locks out the next day. Their online password reset tools don't work- you have to call the branch and beg a teller to reset you. That process takes about a week. Been that way for years. They can't figure out why.
- I tried to close a checking account at another CU. Went into the branch, did the pa
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Stone age.. (Score:2)
Good. Now eliminate the personal check (Score:2)
Near instantaneous payments which are reliable should help eliminate the personal check. One of my pet peeves is the occasional person who still writes personal checks in store checkout lines. The whole reason why a few people still write personal checks in checkout is convenience for them, and the illusion that there's still a float period.
History (Score:1)