The P-to-P payments service promises to clear transactions in near-real time, but many consumers have complained that they have been unable access their money or even open accounts. Zelle has acknowledged the delays and says they are a result of its rigorous enrollment process.
Many of Zelle's member banks chose to migrate clearXchange users to the relaunched service. It's a potential convenience, but if executed without end user awareness or consent it can irritate consumers.
The bank-owned person-to-person network formally went live Monday, enabling direct transfer of funds across 30 U.S. financial institutions. There are a lot of questions around whether it can compete with the current kings of P-to-P — Venmo and PayPal — but Zelle may not be aiming to take them head-on just yet.
When Zelle launches, it will not allow users to share information about their payments with other folks in their network. That decision puts the P-to-P service on a different course than Venmo, its fast-growing rival.
Several groups are developing real-time payments systems for the U.S., and most everyone agrees success is inevitable, but how quickly they can make enough progress to satisfy consumers is a point of contention.
