Fiserv: P2P Payment Products Skyrocket for Credit Unions During COVID

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.”