Zelle, the new banking app

[jazz4cash]

I've been using PayPal for the last 2 decades mostly to transfer money to friends and family.

I did a double take when I read this. PayPal was founded in 1998 under a different name. I think I've used it for 10-12 years and it works great for purchases but I have no friends or family that use it. BofA bill pay can send money with just a phone number or email but recipient has to jump through hoops to get the funds. I tried Zella once but it was also a hassle for payee and said it took 2 days or more. BofA was faster.

 

[dvalley]

I think I've been a Paypal user since 2001 if I recall correctly. I hear about all these new apps etc but then why try to fix what's not broken - so I stick with Paypal. It's so easy, link a bank account (I use a separate free checking specifically for this and only keep a very small amount of money in it) and then send away. Sure the other person also has to have a paypal account but I personally haven't come across anyone that doesn't have one already seeing if you do much with ebay it's all connected.

 

[Mdlerth]

Forgot your password? Ha ha! You fell right into our trap!

My son who lives in New York also sends his rent payment through Zelle to his landlord who is an Amercan living in Japan. Only issue is that his rent is more than the $2,500 daily limit so he must do the transfer over two days through two separate Zelle transactions.

Use cases vary, but a lot of the use Zelle, Apple Pay Cash, or Venmo (and there a lot of alternatives) seems more to be for replacing small cash transactions than bigger account to account transfers.

I dunno. Two and a half large wouldn't be a small cash transaction at Casa Mdlerth.

Zelle (et al) still sounds like a solution in search of a problem. I decline to believe that my quality of life is improved by having to establish yet another username/password combination (which will eventually be penetrated by North Korea) merely to move a few bucks to my kids' bank accounts.

 

[pb4uski]

The prohibition on deposits by non-account owners only applies to CASH deposits... not to checks, money orders, et al.

Also, Zelle is not required but just an example.

Cash deposits will be limited to account owners or authorized signers
What is happening
To help reduce criminal activity and protect your account, we'll be making changes to our policy for cash deposits made at Wells Fargo branches.

Once our policy takes effect in a few weeks, we'll only accept cash deposits into your Wells Fargo Consumer checking or savings accounts if it is coming from an account owner or authorized signer.

What you should know
If a non-account owner needs to deposit money into your account, they can deposit a check, cashier's check or money order, or use a person-to-person payment service like Zelle®.

All customers will need to provide identification to make cash deposits.

 

[MichaelB]

The prohibition on deposits by non-account owners only applies to CASH deposits... not to checks, money orders, et al.

Also, Zelle is not required but just an example.

I’ll not dispute your quote, but I was at the BoA branch, checkbook in hand along with cash, less than the amount subject to Treasury reporting. I met with the teller, teller manager, and branch manager. There was no misunderstanding there and then. Zelle, no other option.

 

[pb4uski]

The quote was from an email that I received this afternoon from BoA. Perhaps those branch personnel didin't get the memo, or misinterpreted it or it has changed since you were there a few weeks ago.

 

[meierlde]

Did you have a deposit slip from the account, or just the account number. Banks never ask for ID to make a deposit, so if you had a deposit slip the issue might not have come up. Partly the tellers are to busy to bother checking.


Wells Fargo just announced the cash deposits for account owners only, but clearly said, that checks, cashiers checks and money orders are ok. They did mention Zelle, but not required. They also will now be asking for ID for a cash deposit, (just to ensure that it is the account owner). For bank ID purposes I got the passport card as well as the book, and use that as the ID.

 

[meierlde]

Actually with the new smartphone deposit apps, you could just write checks in the split check issue since you don't have to go to banks to make deposits by check anymore.
But then I am 67 and don't have a smart phone, and retired and keep most time unassigned. Going to the bank during the day is no problem because of this.

 

[broadway]

I think I've been a Paypal user since 2001 if I recall correctly. I hear about all these new apps etc but then why try to fix what's not broken - so I stick with Paypal. It's so easy, link a bank account (I use a separate free checking specifically for this and only keep a very small amount of money in it) and then send away. Sure the other person also has to have a paypal account but I personally haven't come across anyone that doesn't have one already seeing if you do much with ebay it's all connected.

You'll want to be careful about linking a bank account with small amount of money.

I once bought something on eBay with Paypal intending to use the linked credit card, but during the checkout/payment process I missed the choice of choosing credit card.
Paypal's preferred option was and still remains your Paypal balance. If you don't have enough, they go after the linked bank account.
So, they went after my Wells Fargo account twice within seconds costing me $40 in fees.

I try to avoid Paypal. http://www.paypalsucks.com

 

[broadway]

I have Zelle Pay with my TD Bank account.

I have been able to money to people whose banks belong to Zelle Pay and to a person whose credit union did not.

I still have not tried to the receiving money part.

 

[jazz4cash]

I like PayPal and use the 6 mos zero interest feature for large purchases. I'm finding some retailers like my mom and pop auto repair shop accept PayPal. I think maybe the banks are pushing Zelle because they own it. I just checked and it takes 1-3 days for a new user to get paid via Zelle. Too long.

 

[broadway]

I like PayPal and use the 6 mos zero interest feature for large purchases. I'm finding some retailers like my mom and pop auto repair shop accept PayPal. I think maybe the banks are pushing Zelle because they own it. I just checked and it takes 1-3 days for a new user to get paid via Zelle. Too long.

After the first transaction, it is pretty much instantaneous.

If I had a business I would be very careful about using Paypal.
Having your money frozen for six months is no fun.

 

[cranberryjoe]

I enrolled in Zelle last year although I haven't used it yet. Didn't have to create a new password or anything, it's part of my regular bank account. When I login to my bank's website the Zelle option is there to send money if I want to.

Someone mentioned you don't need to go to the bank to deposit checks. Last time I checked, my bank charges a fee to deposit checks from a smartphone or scan. I'm stingy with fees, so I still need to go to the bank to deposit a paper check. I would rather receive Zelle or Paypal (been using Paypal since the early 2000's).

 

[audreyh1]

Use cases vary, but a lot of the use Zelle, Apple Pay Cash, or Venmo (and there a lot of alternatives) seems more to be for replacing small cash transactions than bigger account to account transfers.

Think splitting the check for dinner, a cab or uber ride. To me it seems more a replacement for carrying cash (or coin change!).

Zelle is the banks trying to stay in the game.

Right, which is why I am so annoyed to be forced to use Zelle to transfer a large amount to my brother’s account. But Chase won’t let me do it any other way online. The alternative is to physically go to the bank and deposit a check to his account.

 

[audreyh1]

You'll want to be careful about linking a bank account with small amount of money.

I once bought something on eBay with Paypal intending to use the linked credit card, but during the checkout/payment process I missed the choice of choosing credit card.
Paypal's preferred option was and still remains your Paypal balance. If you don't have enough, they go after the linked bank account.
So, they went after my Wells Fargo account twice within seconds costing me $40 in fees.

I try to avoid Paypal. http://www.paypalsucks.com

We don’t link a bank account to PayPal.

 

[dvalley]

You'll want to be careful about linking a bank account with small amount of money.

I once bought something on eBay with Paypal intending to use the linked credit card, but during the checkout/payment process I missed the choice of choosing credit card.
Paypal's preferred option was and still remains your Paypal balance. If you don't have enough, they go after the linked bank account.
So, they went after my Wells Fargo account twice within seconds costing me $40 in fees.

I try to avoid Paypal. http://www.paypalsucks.com

Appreciate the warning but I've been using it for almost 2 decades and never had a single issue like that. I use it a couple of times a month but of course everyone's experiences are different and these days you can find sites like <insert anything>sucks.com on just about anything.

Edit: I rarely keep a Paypal balance. but I make sure I have enough in my linked account to cover whatever the transfer/purchase etc (plus some buffer) is.