Digital Payment Service Zelle Looks to Close Loopholes
*By Conor White*
Digital payment service Zelle is expected to grow its user base by 73 percent in 2018, and overtake rival Venmo in the process, according to a new forecast from eMarketer. But the growth has little to do with user preferences or word of mouth ー rather, it's because Zelle is readily available inside the apps of more than 30 U.S. banks.
With such wide availability, though, comes the risk of fraud.
"Any financial product is confronted with these kinds of fraud issues," explained Ravi Loganathan, head of business intelligence at Early Warning Services, the company that created the Zelle app. "On the fraud side, we are well below any industry benchmarks out there."
But according to an April report by the New York Times, Zelle is especially vulnerable thanks to aspects of its design: all someone needs is a phone number or email address, and the user is not always notified when money is transferred into or out of an account.
In an interview Wednesday on Cheddar, Loganathan insisted Early Warning Services is fixing the loopholes being exploited by hackers.
"What we are doing is working actively with the financial institutions to strengthen and to do the education and training that is needed for consumers to better understand how to use the service and then how to also detect fraudsters."
The improvements come at a crucial time. According to a new study from Zelle, 75 percent of millennials have used a digital peer-to-peer payment service at least once, and 49 percent use one weekly.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/zelle-examines-consumer-payment-tech-and-behavior)
Google announced it will be updating its privacy restrictions that will limit tracking throughout apps on android devices. The update is similar to Apple's previous update, which ended up causing companies like Meta to lose billions of dollars on the market. Cheddar News was joined by David Trainer, CEO of New Constructs, to discuss the implications of the new privacy updates.
Global semiconductor sales topped $500 billion dollars for the first time in history in 2021. Demand for microchips has been at an all-time high amid a global shortage, but questions still remain about the future of semiconductor production. Cheddar News was joined by Tristan Gerra, Senior Research Analyst at Baird, to answer some of these questions and more.
Compass Inc. reported its Q4 earnings on Wednesday, noting a 31 percent surge in quarterly revenue year over year. The real estate brokerage platform allows agents to promote and market their properties online and saw a 90 percent agent retention rate as well. Compass CEO Robert Reffkin joined Cheddar News to discuss the company's earnings, what ongoing inflation means for the housing market and how they help agents directly. "Let me start by saying my mom is actually a real estate agent, has been the majority of my life. She's a real estate agent today at Compass, and so I built Compass with her in mind," Reffkin said. The goal for an agent is to grow their business and have a better quality of life, more income to support their family, more time to be with their family, and it's not just software. It's a platform of software and services."
While many are excited to watch the final two NFL teams square-off and see which one ultimately takes home the trophy, some, on the other hand, are there for another mian attraction -- the commercials. Companies during this year's game are looking towards the future From electric vehicles, to robots, and crypto-currency, several first-time advertisers are expected to join long-time advertisers like Pepsi, Budweiser and Doritos during the NFL's biggest game. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer at R/GA, joined Cheddar News' Big Game Special to discuss.
Nissan is revving up its commitment to electric vehicles. the Japanese automaker announcing plans to invest $500 million to transform its assembly plant in Mississippi to build two all-new EV models starting in 2025. It's all part of Nissan's goal to have 23 electrified models for the Nissan and Infiniti brands globally by 2030. Ashwani Gupta, Nissan's COO, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss this announcement and the company's EV goals moving forward.
Cepton made its debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ‘CPTN’ on Thursday. Jun Pei, the co-founder and CEO, joined Cheddar News to discuss going public and its lidar-based solutions for improving safety in autonomous features in cars. "It's really just a huge benefit in addition to radar and camera, and becomes an entire sensor suite that will bring cars to a higher level, both for safety and autonomy."
