August 2, 2010
CashEdge's Popmoney P2P Payment Service to Reach 200 Financial Institutions in Q3
CashEdge debuted Popmoney at FinovateFall 2009 (see video here) with expectations of four banks signing by year-end.
The service allows users to send money with no more information than the recipient's mobile phone number or email address. We spotted the first active Popmoney service at First Hawaiian Bank in December 2009 (Netbanker, December 2009).
The next month, several more financial institutions followed (Finovate, January 2010), including PNC and First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). Now Popmoney is available at about 170 financial institutions including, Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU), Patelco Credit Union, and Bank of the West.
According to Catherine Palmeri, global head of product and marketing at CashEdge, "We expect that more than 200 financial institutions will have launched Popmoney by the end of Q3, 2010."
She adds that U.S. Bank and two other top-ten banks will be adding Popmoney soon. Those three institutions account for more than 10% of all current online banking customers.
Financial instutions view Popmoney as a value-added service for online and mobile banking customers. Many financial institutions also see Popmoney as an additional revenue stream, with fees ranging from $0 to $3 per transfer and "rush" transfer fees up to $10.
CashEdge's 2009 survey revealed that 81% of consumers would use a person-to-person payment service if their bank offered it. Palmieri said users have been eager to adopt, and have sent $50 million (US) via Popmoney so far this year. CashEdge's Popmoney service is an example of another great innovation from a Finovate alumni company.