Innovating Payments Top 3 News Headlines (July 10)

Welcome to Innovating Payments' Top 3 News Headlines for the Week of July 10. As person-to-person payments increase, so do the number of scams using popular networks, raising questions around liability. Although financial institutions are clear that P2P payments through Zelle and Venmo are irrevocable, consumers are attempting to hold financial institutions responsible for fraudulent scams perpetrated through these and other networks. Recently, Democratic U.S. Senators have jumped on board, pressing financial institutions for answers around protecting customers from scams. Also in the news, a survey conducted in early 2022 on 30,000 consumers and 3000 merchants revealed that approximately 40% of the respondents said they would like to pay with cryptocurrencies. What are the implications for consumers and merchants?

Read on to learn more.
 

1.  P2P Payments Fraud Suggests Liability Gray Area (PYMNTS)

Peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions between bank accounts are gaining in popularity, evidenced by the triple-digit percentage gains in Zelle and Venmo volumes, due in part to faster payment rails. The flip side to this consumer love, however, is the increase in fraudsters slipping in to impersonate both individuals and businesses, leaving consumers flummoxed if something goes sideways, PYMNTS reported on Tuesday (July 12). Read more.

2. Unlocking New Instant Settlements Features with Stablecoins (The PayPers)

According to a survey we carried out in the beginning of 2022 on 30,000 consumers and 3000 merchants, approximately 40% of the respondents said they would like to pay with cryptocurrencies. That's up from approximately 30% from when we conducted a smaller but similar survey in 2021. While there's an increased appetite from consumers to pay with stablecoins or cryptocurrencies, a few aspects hold them back, such as a challenging user experience or a limited number of merchants accepting this payment method. Read more.


3. Democratic U.S. Senators Press Big Banks for Details on Zelle Scam Protections (Financial Post)
Democratic U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, asked the country's largest banks on Friday for details on how they protect customers from being scammed out of their money when using Zelle, the inter-bank digital payments tool. In the letter sent to JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co and the four other banks that collectively back Zelle, the senators estimate that Zelle users have lost more than $440 million to fraud and that banks are not doing enough to protect them. Read more.

What is your financial institution doing to educate consumers about fraudulent scams using P2P platforms? With consumer interest growing in using cryptocurrencies, what steps are your financial institution taking to educate staff and consumers about this issue?

Check back soon for our next issue, which will again highlight the industry's most pressing and need-to-know developments. Until then, visit us online at Innovating Payments.

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