Bank of America has become the first member of the US bank-backed Zelle network to roll out its P2P payments functionality.
Bank of America is one 19 banks putting their weight behind mobile P2P payment network Zelle, which is being progressively rolled out to take on competition from Paypal-backed rival Venmo.
While Venmo payments are routed through Nacha's dame-day payments ACH, funds sent through Zelle will materialise in recipients' bank accounts within minutes.
Bank of America's launch comes as it celebrates the tenth-anniversary of its first mobile banking application back in March 2007. Today, mobile is the bank's most used channel, with nearly 22 million active mobile users and more than 3.7 billion logins per year.
“As one of the first banks to offer mobile banking a decade ago, we’re excited to usher in a new era of high-tech, high-touch banking,” says Michelle Moore, head of digital banking at Bank of America. “In 2017, you’ll see a strong focus on payments and intelligent solutions that will deliver personalised experiences clients never imagined were possible.”
She says that through Zelle, mobile users will be able to use the existing contacts on their mobile device to securely transfer money to - or request money from - almost anyone within minutes, regardless of where they bank. The bank’s clients will also be first among Zelle users to be able to split expenses among multiple contacts or friends - such as a group dinner check - and add a personal note along with the payment transfer or request.
