Bank of America mobile customers embrace P2P payments
Bank of America’s mobile customers are fast adopting person-to-person payments through the rollout of the Zelle network, which has processed $8bn in Bank of America customer transactions in the first quarter of this year. The network enables the splitting, sending and receipt of money through mobile, with one in five BoA deposits being completed by mobile. Zelle has processed $55bn for its 20 bank partners since its inception.
Bank of America’s mobile customers are fast embracing P2P.

“We remain a leader in digital banking and continue to see strong digital growth,” said Paul Donofrio, Bank of America’s chief financial officer, during the company’s earnings call this morning. “Given the rollout of Zelle this quarter, users can split, send, and receive money faster than ever. Users sent $8 billion in P2P payments through the first quarter.”

Bank of America reported 22 million mobile banking customers during its earnings, up 13% from this time last year, according to the bank, in line with the mobile growth levels reported from Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase for the quarter.

These mobile customers are clearly already enjoying the rollout of Zelle (or at least its features), as this $8 billion in payments accounts for a 25% increase in P2P payments from last quarter.

As Donofrio stated, Zelle’s P2P capacity was only rolled out for BofA mobile customers this quarter; the bank was one of the first of Zelle’s partners to launch the service for its consumers.

Zelle itself reported that its network has already processed $55 billion in customer transactions from its 20 bank partners.

“It’s about the way people pay each other,” said Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer for Bank of America, on the call regarding the popularity of Zelle. “It’s just like a check or a card or other payment method, [but] it’s more efficient for the customer, for us.”

Aside from P2P, the bank also reported that one in five deposits were now completed through mobile, which seems to speak to a growing level of consumer comfort with mobile banking.