Zelle -- anyone used it?

[Alpo]

My bank just changed their online banking. And now instead of "bill pay", they have "payments", which is separated into 'pay a business" and "pay a person".

 

Pay a person takes you to a spot called zelle. I googled zelle, and it is apparently an instant payment thing. If I wanted to send Hardpan some money, and I knew his cell phone number, I tell them to send it to number xxxxxxx, and it's there. He gets a text telling him how to get the money.

 

Sounds neat, but since it is Zelle telling about it, of course it will sound neat. They won't tell you if there's any problems with it.

 

So have any of y'all used it? Does it work?

[Tyrel Cody]

@Sedalia Dave introduced me to it, no issues so far.

[Alpo]

They didn't mention who pays. Or if they did I didn't see it.

 

Do I pay to send money (like with  Western Union) or would you pay to receive it (like PayPal)?

 

Because sure as God made little green horse apples, they ain't doing it for free.

[Tyrel Cody]

I have only used it to pay and their is no charge for that. I believe the receiver's bank is charged a fee per transaction; no idea if that is passed on to the user. I don't think I can receive as my bank is not on the list. SD can probably shed more light on this.

[Ramblin Gambler]

What's your bank alpo? I hope its not wells fargo.  I know they are pushing zelle, but so far I have not been forced to use it.  That would be enough to make the drop them. 

 

Clark howard does not like them because of a lack of accountability.  He thinks that's probably why banks like them so much, it moves all the risk to the consumer.  He says you should only use it to pay friends who you trust.  It's too easy to scam people and I'm not sure there even is a remedy if you get hacked or accidentally send money to the wrong person. 

[Ramblin Gambler]

Also, zelle doesn't charge fees, which makes me suspicious of them.  How are they making money if they charge no fees? 

 

 

[Dude Slade]

I have Wells Fargo and use Zelle often to send and receive money from my daughter. Never had an issue.

[bgavin]

Zelle is no doubt cheaper than Bill Pay, because Zelle is entirely electronic.
This is more profitable (read: cost effective) for the bank.
I use Wells Fargo bill pay because it is faster/less costly to me, than writing and mailing checks.

For important payments such as property taxes, car tags, etc, I use the eCheck electronic transfers.
You plug in your account and transit-routing number and they do an ACH electronic transaction.
My son wrote quite a bit of ACH (automated clearing house) software, and it is widely used.

Using ACH for crucial transactions gives you an instant receipt and tracking number.
There is no risk of a check getting delayed or "lost", and incurring the resulting penalties for late payments.

[Sedalia Dave]

Some info on Zelle.  JMHO but it appears to be much more secure than other P2P apps.  There is one very important caveat sending money with Zelle is no different than sending someone a check, Western Union Money order or cash. There is ZERO fraud protection. 

JMNSHO when you get down to it; the same is true for all P2P payment apps.

 

What i like about it is that the money goes straight from bank to bank, a third party is not holding my funds.

 

Quote

A spokesperson from Chase, one of the banks that partners with Zelle, added that "consumers should always confirm that the person they're paying is someone they know and trust, the same way they would a wire or cashier's check."

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-use-zelle-payments-app-vs-venmo-2018-2018-6

 

https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-zelle-the-mobile-payment-app-that-rivals-venmo/

 

https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/16/zelle-users-are-finding-out-the-hard-way-theres-no-fraud-protection/

 

 

[Sedalia Dave]

9 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said:

What's your bank alpo? I hope its not wells fargo.  I know they are pushing zelle, but so far I have not been forced to use it.  That would be enough to make the drop them. 

 

Clark howard does not like them because of a lack of accountability.  He thinks that's probably why banks like them so much, it moves all the risk to the consumer.  He says you should only use it to pay friends who you trust.  It's too easy to scam people and I'm not sure there even is a remedy if you get hacked or accidentally send money to the wrong person. 

 

All person to person payment systems are subject to scamming and NONE of them have any more accountability than the others. What sets Zelle apart is the actual money transfers are done on the same system as all other electronic banking transactions. The Zelle app is the same one used for online banking.

The other apps are using their own software and have full control of your money until you move it to your bank account.

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

You have zero recourse if you get scammed. No buyer protection at all.

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Cash works!  

 

Now, not to sound like a total curmudgeonous Luddite,  I treat all electronic transfers cautiously - 'specially after a few years ago when someone used PayPal to totally drain my bank account.  The night of my payroll automatic deposit.  

 

By the way ~ I was once a career banker.  Then I came to my senses.  

[PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L]

I recently used Zelle (for the first time) for a Classifieds transaction.

Quick and painless.

[Chili Ron]

Howdy,

I saw a tv article  where a whole country depended on a similar software.

I don't remember the name but it worked ezzactly like this.

It saved going to the bank, often miles away.

And the lack of making change etc saved so much money.

It kind of pays for itself.

If I was doing it I would have a small monthly charge or some sort of adverts.

Anything to do away with the takes for dam ever line at the diner, please.

Today ever kid wants to carry their dam fone and wave it all around ever second.

Should do wonders for the massage therapy bidnezz.

Best

CR

 

[Ramblin Gambler]

On 1/28/2020 at 7:46 PM, Sedalia Dave said:

 

All person to person payment systems are subject to scamming and NONE of them have any more accountability than the others. What sets Zelle apart is the actual money transfers are done on the same system as all other electronic banking transactions. The Zelle app is the same one used for online banking.

The other apps are using their own software and have full control of your money until you move it to your bank account.

 

Unless "person to person payment system" has a narrow meaning, I disagree with you.  If someone forges my name and starts writing bad checks, I can get my money back.  If someone hacks my paypal account and sends themselves money, I can get my money back.  If I send the wrong person money with paypal or a check, I can get my money back (though it might depend on how fast I discover the error for this one).  If someone steals my ATM card and cleans out my accounts, I can get my money back. 

 

Zelle has none of those protections.  With Billpay (which is what they're trying to replace with zelle) I have all of those protections. 

 

I have heard that with zelle, if you send money to the wrong person, even if it's an honest person who wants to return the funds, they will have trouble.  Maybe someone who has received zelle money can comment on that.  When you get paid, do they give you enough information to return it? 

 

If I were ranking methods for paying an unknown person, zelle would be between mailing a wad of cash and mailing a personal check.  For a someone you trust, it wold be right below handing them a wad of cash. 

 

[Michigan Slim]

Never used it. Apparently I just set up a PayPal account though. Got a letter in the mail welcoming me to the service. Wife spent an hour on the phone getting it cancelled last night.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 1/28/2020 at 9:08 AM, Ramblin Gambler said:

What's your bank alpo? I hope its not wells fargo.  I know they are pushing zelle, but so far I have not been forced to use it.  That would be enough to make the drop them. 

 

Clark howard does not like them because of a lack of accountability.  He thinks that's probably why banks like them so much, it moves all the risk to the consumer.  He says you should only use it to pay friends who you trust.  It's too easy to scam people and I'm not sure there even is a remedy if you get hacked or accidentally send money to the wrong person. 

I dropped WF years ago when their logo suddenly disarmed the shotgun rider.  I didn'rt see why he was there.  Maye to operate a GPS box.  Now he's gone altogether.

[Ramblin Gambler]

14 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

I dropped WF years ago when their logo suddenly disarmed the shotgun rider.  I didn'rt see why he was there.  Maye to operate a GPS box.  Now he's gone altogether.

 

Your eyes are better than mine.  I never saw him. 

 

I never even signed up with WF.  They just bought the bank that bought the bank that I DID sign up with.  I stuck with them because they honored the conditions on the account I originally signed up with even though they never offered that deal.  Also, they still give me a real debit card instead of one of those fake visas. 

[Mud Marine,SASS#54686 Life]

This fourth generation investment banker uses cheques. I have no account or anything else that requires instant delivery. I insist upon manually signed receipts. I don't gamble with my funds.