CashEdge Launches Bank-Centric P2P Payments Service

Money transmission company CashEdge (New York) is now offering a person-to-person payments solution to banks called POPmoney. According to CashEdge, POPmoney is the first p2p service that makes banks the centerpiece of the transactions.

POPmoney is designed to allow bank customers to "Pay Other People" (POP) anywhere, at any time, directly from within a bank's online or mobile application. With POPmoney, bank customers can send an electronic payment by using the e-mail address or mobile phone number of the recipient. POPmoney includes an SMS text messaging application, as well as downloadable mobile applications, enabling banks to extend their P2P functionality to mobile phones.

Neil Platt, SVP and general manager, banking with CashEdge, emphasizes that the big difference between POPmoney and other p2p payment services is that consumers can continue to maintain their accounts and relationships with their banks.

"Existing peer-to-peer payments networks, such as PayPal and Obopay, are standalone services that require users to set-up a new account directly with them to join their networks and use their services," Platt told BS&T. "In contrast, POPmoney is a service that enables banks to directly offer their customers P2P payments. People that bank with financial institutions that offer POPmoney can leverage their existing accounts and relationships to send and receive money. There is no need to set up new accounts and passwords, maintain separate balances, nor track payment activity through a new interface. This enables users to centrally manage their money, while at the same time benefit from the ease and convenience enabled by electronic payments."

Platt explains that sender and recipient do not have to be customers of the same bank. Although the sender must bank at a POPmoney participating financial institution, this is not required of recipients. However, they will not have access to the mobile payments feature of POPmoney and can only receive funds at popmoney.com.

For now, CashEdge is concentrating on marketing POPmoney to its existing clients that use the company's TransferNow service. Platt says that banks using TransferNow need only make minor modifications to offer POPmoney to their customers. POPmoney leverages the same infrastructure and money movement platform as other CashEdge money movement services. Consumers who bank at financial institutions that offer POPmoney can access the service directly through online or mobile banking.

Although he cannot get specific with bank names, he says the reaction from TransferNow clients has been positive. "Our TransferNow clients have been very enthusiastic about this offering, and several are on board to launch the POPmoney service this year," notes Platt.