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The global pandemic this year has caused credit union members and consumers to embrace digital payments at an incredible pace. According to fintech powerhouse Fiserv, it has "added or enhanced" P2P payment capabilities for more than 200 credit unions and banks in 2020 using the Zelle Network.
According to information released on Tuesday, the Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv uses its Turnkey Service for Zelle to optimize the path "from pipeline to go live" so that credit unions can get members connected to the P2P platform "faster than ever before."
The Linthicum, Md.-based SECU of Maryland ($4.2 billion in assets and more than 250,000 members) launched the P2P service for its members this year.
"Even prior to COVID-19, our strategy has been to push toward more sophisticated digital technology for our members to allow them the ease of banking from their homes," Becky Smith, EVP, chief strategy and marketing officer at SECU of Maryland, said. "Now that we are in a new environment, being able to offer Zelle has proven to be even more meaningful to our members who have been asking for a service like this."
Zelle allows consumers to send and receive money directly from one U.S. financial institution account to another, typically within minutes when both parties are already enrolled.
"We've seen consistent growth in P2P payments every month for the past three years, and the recent pandemic has accelerated that trend," Tom Allanson, president, Electronic Payments at Fiserv, said. "The number of financial institutions offering Zelle via Fiserv has more than doubled in 2020, expanding access to easy, fast and secure digital payments at a time people need them most."
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
