BLUMENTHAL ANNOUNCES HEARING WITH ZELLE OWNER & OPERATOR EARLY WARNING SERVICES, MAJOR BANKS

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) Chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) announced that Early Warning Services Chief Executive Officer Cameron Fowler will testify at a hearing, “Instant Payments, Instant Losses: Zelle and the Big Banks Fail to Protect Consumers from Fraud,” at 3:30 PM on Tuesday, July 23. Fowler will testify alongside corporate executives of Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

“Year after year, Zelle and the banks that own it have failed to fully protect consumers from a growing threat of scams and fraud,” said Blumenthal. “The banks play ‘heads I win, tails you lose,’ as sophisticated scammers reap the benefits and consumers lose hard-earned money. At this hearing, Zelle and its three largest owner banks will finally answer for their unwillingness to make consumers whole when they fall victim to scams and fraud on Zelle. Instant payments must not mean instant losses for consumers.”

In June 2023, PSI opened a bipartisan inquiry into Early Warning Services, the company that operates the Zelle network, and the three largest Zelle owner banks, which will be represented at next week’s hearing. The hearing will scrutinize how banks and Early Warning Services handle fraud and scams on Zelle, which have grown along with the popularity of peer-to-peer payment platforms in recent years. The hearing will include testimony from:

1. Cameron Fowler, Chief Executive Officer, Early Warning Services
2. Melissa Feldsher, Managing Director, Head of Commerce Enablement, JPMorgan Chase
3. Mark Monaco, Head of Global Payment Solutions, Bank of America
4. Adam Vancini, Executive Vice President, Head of Payments for Consumer, Small & Business Banking, Wells Fargo

In May, PSI convened a hearing to examine the human toll of scams and fraud on Zelle, which included testimony from two individuals who were victimized by scammers on the platform.

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