From Skeptic to Raving Fan - PeoplesPay
I have always loved technology and the convenience it provides. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’m not as quick to be the first to try some new tech savvy tool. I’ve never been one to stand in the huge lines outside the Apple store to pick up the latest iPhone, but there was a time in my life when I spent way too much money on the latest and greatest technological advancement.
I remember when I purchased both a TiVo and a Roomba in my early 20’s right after they hit the market. Back then pausing live TV and having a robot vacuum your floor sounded like something straight off an episode of the Jetsons…(for our younger readers, this is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon from the early 1960’s depicting a futuristic family who lived in space and had a robot maid named Rosey). I’ll admit, I didn’t exercise sound financial principles in my decision to make these purchases, but thankfully I had enough saved to splurge.
Over the years, my desire for the latest and greatest in technology has waned. Whether its kids, work or shifting priorities, I’ve grown increasingly skeptical of jumping on the latest technological bandwagon. My approach has been wait and see before buying or using. This was especially the case when it came to using a Person 2 Person payment platform.
Shortly after my aforementioned splurges, my PayPal account was hacked. Maybe I was too busy watching commercial free TV or in amazement at how much dirt Roomba picked up to notice, but that incident really affected my trust in “new” financial technologies. Thankfully I did not incur a financial loss, but I did spend countless hours dealing with customer support, resetting passwords, and monitoring email accounts to make sure nothing else occurred. So while the convenience of paying individuals electronically via services like PayPal sounded amazing, I did not want to have a repeat experience.
A few years later, I’m working in banking and our bank has rolled out a new Person to Person payment platform called PeoplesPay. With my horrible PayPal experience, my first inclination again was skepticism. I wanted to know how it worked and more importantly was it safe and secure. Since I was on the “inside” I made it my mission to find these answers.
I learned that initiating a PeoplesPay payment happens behind the security of my online or mobile banking login making an unauthorized payment very unlikely. To make things even more secure PeoplesPay sends money via my Peoples Bank of Alabama Discover Debit Card and each transaction is authenticated by entering my PIN. So for an unauthorized PeoplesPay payment to be sent, a “hacker” would have to know my electronic banking ID and password as well as my Debit Card PIN number.
Since my concerns on safety were answered, I was eager to give it a try and I love it! One of the little known secrets about bankers is we are notorious for never carrying cash. I guess we all think, if I need cash the teller line or ATM is just right down the hall… Well, the problem is I don’t need cash while I’m at work. I need it to pay the lawn guy or the babysitter or my part of a birthday gift. In those moments before PeoplesPay, I had to either write a check (which is in my top 3 most hated things to do) or have an IOU hanging over my head. Now with just a few clicks on my phone, I can pay almost anyone, almost instantly.
*Since this publication, Peoples Bank of Alabama has transitioned P2P platforms to Zelle®. Learn more about Zelle® by checking out this blog.
