38 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2017 OPERATIONS / TECHNOLOGY In June, more than 15 financial institutions nationwide launched ZelleSM network, a person-to-person (P2P) payments service from Early Warning. Customers who bank through Zelle partners may use their banks’ apps to send and receive real-time payments at no charge to recipients who have registered mobile numbers or email addresses. Fifth Third Bank was one of the early adopters of Zelle, and several more banks are scheduled to launch the service in coming months. By mid-2018, more than 30 institutions are to be part of the Zelle network, including several members of the Indiana Bankers Association: Bank of America; Chase Bank; Fifth Third Bank; PNC Bank, NA; SunTrust Bank; U.S. Bank, NA; and Wells Fargo. To learn about the P2P benefits of Zelle, Hoosier Banker met with Greg D. Carmichael, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp, Cincinnati. With a background that includes leadership positions in information technology, Carmichael is uniquely positioned to share insights on the Zelle service. What were the deciding points for Fifth Third to partner with Zelle? “First, Zelle is part of Early Warning Services, which acquired a person-to-person exchange that had been created by a consortium of banks. We liked the idea of being part of a service provided by banks for our customers. “Second, it is very easy for the consumer to set up and use. Their payments go through real-time. “Lastly, when there is a problem, there is always a bank for the customer to talk to, someone to call. That’s why Zelle is so powerful: ease of use, real time and strong controls.” Please give a thumbnail description of how Zelle works. “Zelle is based around person-to-person payments, running real-time, so that when you push a button, it happens immediately: Customers receive a notification of payment and the actual money is in their account within seconds. “For example, a text message will arrive that says you’ve got $40 being sent to you from the sender. If you are already set up with Zelle, you simply accept it. If you are not set up, you click on the application, which quickly downloads and sets it up. “You won’t need to know your routing number, or which bank the other party uses, or their routing information. The transaction is all done by mobile phone numbers or email addresses, depending on how the user sets it up. There’s a large directory of individuals who are already linked together in the Zelle network. “Security, access, recovery, verification and dual authentication are all built into the fabric of the platform. If you look at the Fifth Third mobile app, you’ll see that it’s touch identified and password protected. “In addition, there is accountability for ‘Zelle’ Insights From Fifth Third Bank Greg Carmichael explains the benefits of Zelle, a P2P payments service.
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