These days, how do you usually split restaurant tabs with others? What about rent or utilities? How did you end up paying for that vintage table you found off of Facebook Marketplace? Chances are you probably either pay by a card or through some sort of mobile banking app.
We’ve come a long, long way from simply paying with cash to saying, “Can you split our check with multiple cards?” to, “You get this one, I’ll get the next one,” and most recently saying, “Just send me your portion.”
From cash to bank transfers, PayPal to Venmo, electronic financial transactions are becoming more convenient as banking apps continue to improve and evolve over time. Mobile banking has made it simpler, safer, and easier to manage your finances.
Sending money to someone’s phone number has been around for a while now, but it’s just become even more convenient.
Mobile Payment
Mobile payment services –in the form of apps – are becoming increasingly more popular every day. They’re popular for a few reasons, improving on customer pain points, like:
- Security
- Little-to-no fees
- Convenience
- Mobile-friendly
History and Evolution of Mobile Transactions
The Early 2000s
Starting with SMS Banking, through SMS, banks would send out alerts to notify their clients when any financial activity took place. These messages appear as text messages to the customer, which, most of the time, include links to log into your online account.
While it was nice to be aware of transactions taking place in the account, it didn’t really make banking any more convenient for the customer. Security and encryption is another problem the bank faced since SMS is susceptible to cyber fraud, phishing, and breaches leaving clients with security concerns.
2010
PayPal was one of the first transaction services that allowed customers and businesses to transfer funds electronically. PayPal is widely known, trusted, and accepted by individuals and businesses alike. Even though it had issues early on with hackers and fraud, PayPal has since enhanced security and encrypted transactions, making it a secure way to send money to someone. While PayPal service can be free if both parties have connected bank accounts, transaction fees can be significant using debit or credit cards for convenience or expedited payments.
Chances are, you’ve probably used Venmo when sending money to someone else. Customers are fond of the app because of its social media-like interface. Users can see their friends and random users’ activity, liking and commenting on the different transactions. However many users aren’t comfortable with sharing their financial history with the world, despite that their information is encrypted.
Similar to its cofounder, PayPal, there is a 3% fee for using your debit or credit card as a payment option as well as a 1% fee on instant transfers. As long as both parties have the Venmo app, paying someone is convenient through Venmo once you know their username.
2017
Zelle is the most recent mobile banking app owned by a private financial services company partnered with banks like:
- Wells Fargo
- Bank of America
- PNC Bank
- U.S. Bank
- Capital One
- JP Morgan, etc.
Zelle allows customers who use the above banks to electronically transfer money from their bank account to someone else’s without charging any fees. Both parties must be a member of the participating banks in order to use Zelle.
Transactions are easier with Zelle, through sending money to someone’s phone number if no other information is available, but there must be a participating bank account associated with any transaction through Zelle.
Recently, this app has proven vulnerable to fraudulent transactions, as it doesn’t use two-factor authentication (2FA) or other security measures in its platform, for faster, more convenient transactions.
Sending Money With Marygold & Co.
As Marygold & Co. President Chad Butler has said, “I would really like to have an easy way to pay anyone I owe, without having to worry about if they accept Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, Bitcoin, cash, check, magic beans, etc.”
We hear the concerns and issues that customers face with other mobile payment apps and services, which is why we think you may have found the best solution for all mobile transactions. The ability to transfer funds from one individual to another has never been easier and we don’t even require both parties to be Marygold & Co. clients.
Sending money to someone’s phone number has never been easier.
To send or receive money, all you need is a name and an email address or phone number to send funds to anyone in the US. It doesn’t cost anything to send money from your Marygold & Co. account and recipients have free options to accept the money. The person on the receiving end is able to choose how and where they wish to receive any payment including various electronic fund transfer options to existing bank accounts or debit cards. They can even request an old fashioned check in the mail if preferred. The best part is recipients don’t need to have a mobile banking app or connected account to accept their money.
We’ve been in the fintech and banking industries long enough to observe the advantages and disadvantages that banks and apps alike face. We’ve experienced the improvements and evolution of these mobile apps and how banks have turned to digital forms of payments for faster, more convenient service. We’ve been able to take note of what customers want and need and have developed our focus around that.
We invite you to join the waitlist to learn more about how we’re changing the fintech industry through our mobile banking app features.
