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)
The White House laid out plans for a $5 billion investment into a national network of charging stations to ease EV driving anxiety. Bruce Brimacombe, CEO of EV infrastructure GOe3 joined Cheddar News to discuss how much needs to be done for drivers to get over the fear of running out of energy. "People need to be able to do what they're doing now," he said. "But that is the way that if you're going to buy an electric car, you got to feel like you're not changing your world." Brimacombe noted that building out the infrastructure between cities was GOe3's own focus.
Sonos reported better than expected Q1 earnings amid chip shortage with the release of its Roam product. CFO Brittany Bagley joined Cheddar News to discuss the smart speaker maker's successful report and its plans to hit its 2024 targets as people leave their homes as pandemic restrictions ease. "Even as people head out in the world, it doesn't mean they don't like to listen to music at home or watch a streaming movie at home," she said. "So there's still a real role for us and our products in peoples lives, sort of, no matter what else they're doing."
Kalle Marsal, Chief Operating Officer at PetDx, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how next-generation sequencing technology is being used to detect cancer in pets early.
Ashleigh Hinde, Founder and CEO of WALDO, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: WALDO CEO breaks down why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all; COO at PetDx explains how next-generation sequencing technology is being used to detect cancer in pets early; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Inside The Mind of a Con Artist.'
Cheeze, Inc. is a media platform that hopes to help photographers to tell stories through the use of NFT’s. Simon Hudson, founder and CEO of Cheeze, Inc. joined Cheddar News to explain the process as well as teasing its "Women of Authenticity" display for Women’s History Month. "We've made it very simple and focused very hard on reducing all of the friction to bring their items to the blockchain." Hudson explained. He also addressed reports that cloud software giant Salesforce could be getting into the NFT marketplace.
Samsung unveiled its latest product lineup, including a new family of Galaxy S22 smartphones featuring the S22 Ultra with a larger screen, more powerful camera, and the Samsung S Pen stylus. The company also revealed its latest tablet, the Tab S8 Ultra, featuring a 14.6" screen, expanded storage, and 4K video capability. Cheddar News was able to showcase each device as Allison Johnson, reviews writer at The Verge, joined Closing Bell to discuss the new releases, the standout features, and more.
