BROOKFIELD, Wis.—Fiserv has announced that multiple financial institutions, including Ally Bank, Bank of the West and BECU, have committed to join Early Warning’s Zelle Network via an alliance between Fiserv and Early Warning.
Early Warning launched Zelle at the Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas this week. The network will be offered by many of the country’s leading financial institutions, and will provide consumers with a faster way to send and receive payments within the security of their financial institution.
Fiserv said it will offer the first turnkey version of Zelle to simplify integration for financial institutions of all sizes. The Fiserv turnkey solution will offer all the elements of the Zelle solution in a single platform to reduce costs and speed time to market for financial institutions.
The P2P payments landscape is competitive and highly fragmented. People want to be confident that when they send money it will get to the intended recipient, and get there quickly. This requires reach and connectivity across all consumers, regardless of where they bank.
“Our members turn to us for simple and relevant payment options,” said Doug Marshall, SVP of Retail at BECU, one of the nation’s largest credit unions. “Almost a decade ago, BECU was one of the first financial institutions to provide person-to-person payments with Fiserv. We’re looking forward to expanding on that relationship and providing a real-time payment solution through Zelle in the near future”
Fiserv and Early Warning announced their alliance, designed to extend the availability of real-time person-to-person (P2P) payments to thousands of financial institutions and millions of people, in August 2016. Together, Fiserv and Early Warning reach more than 6,000 banks and credit unions, including the 40 largest financial institutions in the U.S. and thousands of mid-size and community financial institutions. This reach helps ensure consumers have access to faster, secure P2P payment capabilities, Fiserv stated.
“The strong initial interest in working with Fiserv to access the Zelle network underscores the commitment financial institutions have to delivering a consistent, convenient person-to-person payments experience,” said Kevin Schultz, president, Digital Banking, Fiserv. “A ubiquitous payments service supported by a strong brand and a compelling user experience provides financial institutions with a significant opportunity to grow the visibility and use of person-to-person payments.”
Zelle is accessed directly from within a financial institution’s mobile banking service and enables people to send money using only a recipient’s email address or cell phone number.