NewsBreak Original

In the digital world, some applications that function as online transfer services have captured the attention of millions of customers. We are talking about applications such as Zelle, for sending money, or Venmo for making payments to third parties. The truth is that their main utilities lie in sending instant payments without the need to complicate things too much.

This week, a Bank of America glitch led to a bit of a panic as customers noticed funds missing from their accounts when they made payments via the Zelle app. TIME magazine reported on the situation, sharing comments from Bank of America users who experienced the major error firsthand.

Payment fraud has been rampant over the past few years with schemers claiming as much as $5.8 billion in the past year alone. However, Zelle a peer-to-peer payment service, offered by hundreds of the world's top financial institutions, has seen victims ranging from young to old lose thousands of dollars a text at a time.

Industry research group shares data on Zelle vs. other platforms, highlights safety of Zelle transactions. The Bank Policy Institute (BPI), a nonprofit research and advocacy group backed by banking industry interests, has released data it says indicates Zelle is the safest way for consumers to move money. The data compares Zelle transactions to those of other peer-to-peer players such as Venmo (owned by PayPal) and Cash App.

Coalition praises Federal Reserve for public system, warns of potential fraud. Following an announcement by the Federal Reserve of the launch of a "FedNow" payments system in 2023, a coalition of consumer groups is raising concerns about potential fraud similar to the fraud issues that have plagued payment provider Zelle.