Wells Fargo has joined JP Morgan in revealing that US authorities are investigating the handling of complaints about P2P payments service Zelle.
In an SEC filing, Wells says: “Government authorities have been conducting formal or informal inquiries or investigations regarding the handling of customer disputes related to fund transfers made through the Zelle Network.”
JP Morgan made a similar statement in an SEC filing in February. Neither bank has been accused of wrongdoing.
Zelle is run by Early Warning Services, which is owned by seven of the biggest banks in the US. Launched in 2017, it has proved a huge hit, facilitating $629 billion in transactions in 2022, twice as many as its nearest competitor Venmo.
However, it has also “opened the door to fraud and scams on a tremendous scale,” according to a letter sent last year by Senate Democrats to the Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, National Credit Union Administration and OCC.
The Senators, which include Elizabeth Warren, called on regulators to “closely review and examine the customer reimbursement and anti-money laundering (AML) practices of depository institutions that participate in the Zelle network.”