Mobile payment apps move beyond cash and credit.
Mobile apps offer many ways to pay
As the holiday season kicks off today with Black Friday shopping, consumer options for payments have gone far beyond the traditional cash, check or credit.
The growth of mobile-phone usage and smartwatches gives merchants more ways than ever to accept customers’ money.
Mobile applications such as Square’s Cash and PayPal’s Venmo can be loaded directly through users’ bank accounts in an app.
The upstart companies have caused a ripple effect in the venerable banking industry.
Banks have responded by banding together to form Zelle, a platform that allows customers of more than 30 financial institutions to send money to each other.
This holiday shopping season will be the first major test for Zelle, a robust network that landed several major banks this summer. That could help family and friends exchange money as they shop or give direct gifts.
Bank of America recently reported that its apps have contributed $4 billion worth of transactions using peer-to-peer options, including Zelle, which is offered for free. Wells Fargo, meanwhile, said in an earnings call that peerto-peer payments increased by 46 percent year-over-year, although data specific to Zelle was not broken out.
“Zelle is a way for banks to work as one,” said Candice Simmons, a financial wellness expert with Wells Fargo. “We are always looking for new ways to make it easier for our customers to shop and stay on top of their transactions.”
In its most-recent quarterly earnings call, Apple reported that it has seen a 15.8 percent growth in the collective usage of several products, including Apple Pay, to $52.6 million.
Major retailers like ACE Hardware, the Nike store and the Disney Store have adopted Apple Pay, which allows instant access to users’ bank accounts or credit cards at checkout counters.
Customers using mobile payments can take steps to safeguard their information, such as using a password, PIN code or thumbprint to use their cellphone, payment processor ACI Worldwide said.
In general, shoppers should also heed the following advice: Shop at reputable websites, vary passwords for online accounts with merchants, do not allow boxes to sit on your front porch and monitor your credit- and debit-card posts. Also do not share financial information by email or phone, unless using a secure website that begins with “https” in its address.