The Bank of America and Zelle, a peer-to-peer (P2P) offering payment service, have teamed up together to provide their clients with better payment solutions. Zelle has also been integrated into Bank of America’s award-winning mobile application. This will allow the users of Bank of America to carry out transactions in real-time using the bank’s mobile application. There are no extra charges for carrying out these transactions, and the Bank of America claims it is a safe and secure way of transferring money. It makes the payment process faster for its users and gives access to more people. Additionally, most people in the US use the Zelle app, making it easier and more accessible to the user of Bank of America.
A US mobile number or email address is required to carry out transactions in real-time by using Zelle. Moreover, this method ensures that the user’s bank account information remains confidential. However, per the Bank of America’s official website, payments made via Zelle (integrated into the Bank of America mobile application) should only be made to family, friends and people the user is familiar with. This is to ensure the security of the user and to prevent potential fraud.
To get started with using Zelle, users need to sign into their Bank of America mobile application and tap Zelle. Users can also add the Bank of America widget to their home screen and directly link their contacts. This will make the process of transactions faster, providing users with direct access to send and request money. In addition, users can quickly know who in their contact list is already a user of Zelle. Simply look for a purple “z” next to their contact, and it will indicate all the users of Zelle on the client’s contact list.
The process of sending money has also become quick and easy, thanks to Zelle’s integration with the Bank of America mobile app. First, users need to tap the QR code icon next to the search bar to open their device’s camera. They can then scan the QR code to immediately obtain the receipt’s contact information. By doing this, the user can send money without manually entering the recipient’s information. The last step is to confirm and send the money. Users can also share their unique QR code with someone paying them back by using Zelle.
The process of receiving funds is also as simple as sending them. Users need first to enrol their US mobile number or email address, and money will be directly sent to their Bank of America account. The first step for receiving money via Zelle is the same as transferring it. Users must click on “settings” or “manage settings” in the Bank of America mobile application and follow instructions. They then have to check their text messages or email for a one-time code. This is done to ensure the security of the user. However, the former code will be sent only when the user enrolls via Zelle for the first time. The subsequent money transactions will be directly credited/debited from the user’s bank account.
The growing market for Mobile P2P payments
In recent years the market for P2P payment groups has grown exponentially. Bank of America and 18 other banks partnered with Zelle developer Early Warning to launch their P2P app. Business Insider reports that the relationship between Zelle and Bank of America saw approximately 68 million peer-to-peer transactions with the service in 2017. This represents 84 per cent of year-over-year (YoY) growth. This partnership has aimed to attract more users to their mobile banking apps. Launching these apps will allow banks to compete with popular payment apps like Venmo and Square Cash.
P2P payments are growing fast and are being considered a valuable engagement tool. P2P volume in the US is projected to rise from $19 billion in 2015 to $336 billion in 2021, a 61 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Banks may be vying for a piece of this enormous payment volume before Venmo, a PayPal-owned P2P app, locks them out. Venmo processed $17.6 billion in total in 2016, with Q4 2016 marking the product’s 14th straight quarter of over 100% growth. In addition, banks may be able to increase customer engagement by adding a P2P option. The average Venmo user logs in at least twice weekly, demonstrating the service’s popularity among users. Because banks may offer other services through their app, providing users more reasons to interact, which could prove even more effective for banks.
