Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Zelle and Fraud

As someone who is intimately familiar with Reg E, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, reading news like this - https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/41920/senators-urge-regulators-to-take-action-on-zelle-fraud - is thought provoking. The actual fraud losses by consumers relative to the total amount transacted is very, very small. However, if you are one of the people who loses their life savings due to one of these scams, that does not matter very much. As a user of Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, etc. I have noticed a significant increase in messaging about how to prevent one of these scams from occuring which is great. I also appreciate that for the most part consumers are not charged for these transactions and hence why the FIs and non FIs (ie; PayPal, Venmo, CashApp) are reluctant to reimburse their customers. However, this was the same for ATM transactions in general and REG E was imposed and the systems not only survived, they thrived. So, I think a balanced solution is needed. REG E or something similiar should be implemented to protect consumers using Zelle and these other services. The money the service providers save by having these TXs done electronically is massive and either already or over time paid services will be added making these systems profit generators. But consumer confidence is critical and therefore the regulation is a necessity.