Popmoney Explained

Company Type:Division of Fiserv
Location:New York, New York
Location Country:United States
Website Type:Online payment system

Popmoney was a person-to-person payments service (P2P) developed by CashEdge (now part of Fiserv) and launched in December 2010.[1]

The service enabled individuals to send and receive payments electronically in a manner that is designed to displace traditional check payments. In 2018, some banks began to replace Popmoney with Zelle. Fiserv discontinued the service on June 30, 2023, stating that the majority of its customers had already transitioned to Zelle.[2]

The name "Popmoney" is an acronym for "pay other people money".

Function

Popmoney differed from other person-to-person payment services in the manner that transactions took place. Popmoney transactions executed from the sender's checking account to the receiver's checking account directly; there was no requirement for a stored-value account for either participant.[3]

Transactions executed through popmoney.com cost $1.00 each. Generally, transactions took 1–3 days, but in April 2013 real-time payments were enabled in certain circumstances.[4]

Integration with Zashpay

Fiserv's acquisition of CashEdge necessitated integration between Fiserv's Zashpay P2P service and Popmoney. Prior to acquisition, Zashpay had more than 1,400 financial institutions signed up. Popmoney retained fewer financial institutions, but those that it did were significantly larger.[5] [6]

Bank integrations

As of February 2012, Popmoney had enabled single sign-on capability with over 1,400 financial institutions.[7] [8]

Criticism

In 2012, Consumerist criticized Popmoney because not all types of bank accounts could receive payments from Popmoney.[9] Additionally, Popmoney made it difficult for a user to close their account. Users were allowed to create accounts online, but per the terms of service were required to send account closure requests via postal mail in order to terminate their account.

Notes and References

  1. CashEdge . December 10, 2010 . First Two Banks Go Live with CashEdge's POPmoney(TM) Person-to-Person Payments Service . https://web.archive.org/web/20091222193916/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-two-banks-go-live-with-cashedges-popmoneytm-person-to-person-payments-service-79607992.html . 22 December 2009 . PRNewswire.
  2. Web site: Stewart . John . May 31, 2023 . As New Services Roil P2P, Fiserv Gets Set to Shut Down Its Popmoney Network .
  3. News: Urken, Ross . Will Peer-To-Peer Payments Rescue the Mobile Wallet from Fad Status? . . November 5, 2012.
  4. Web site: News: Fiserv Enters Real-Time P2P Payments Fray with Popmoney Instant Payments . Digital Transactions . April 17, 2013 . June 30, 2016.
  5. News: Rappart, Marc . July 5, 2012 . CashEdge Purchase Seen Boosting Fiserv P2P, Small Business Offerings . Credit Union Times.
  6. News: Roberts, Ed . March 1, 2012. Fiserv Inc. is merging its two person-to-person payment offerings, Popmoney and ZashPay, and will market the combined offering as Popmoney . American Banker.
  7. Web site: Digital Transactions . February 29, 2012 . Fiserv Combines Its P2P Payments Services Under the Popmoney Brand.
  8. Fiserv reports Q4 earnings rise . Finextra . February 6, 2013.
  9. Web site: Northrup . Laura . Popmoney Seemed Easy, Then I Tried To Actually Get My Money . . October 18, 2012.