NEWS FROM BAI: S1, FIS Use PayPal for P2P Payments

Both S1 and FIS have struck deals with electronic payments provider PayPal to integrate that company's person-to-person payments capabilities into their online banking platforms.

S1 said in a release that PayPal will enable its banks clients' consumer and business customers to make fast, secure payments from their bank accounts to PayPal users worldwide via mobile phones. Mercantile Bank of Michigan, an S1 customer, is the first financial institution to sign up for the new offering and expects to go live with the mobile personal payments service early next year.

Users enter the recipient's e-mail address or mobile phone number to initiate a transaction. To complete the transaction, the sender needs to have a bank account with a participating financial institution and the receiver needs to have a PayPal account. If the recipient does not use PayPal, then a prompt will appear encouraging that person to enroll.

The sender will receive a real-time status alert of whether the funds sent have been claimed. Financial institutions working with S1 can tailor pricing for this new offering to maximize fee-based opportunities, said the company.

FIS will have a similar offering. It is integrating PayPal's (P2P) payment system into its online bill payment application for financial institutions. When a sender initiates a personal payment and selects the free electronic option, the receiver's e-mail address is simply entered to complete payment. From there an email immediately notifies the receiver of the payment, which is delivered in real-time over PayPal's network.