JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America Playing ‘Heads I Win, Tails You Lose’ With Customers As Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Disappears on Zelle: US Senator Richard Blumenthal

A group of banking giants led by JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are playing a dangerous game with their customers’ money, according to US Senator Richard Blumenthal.

The Democrat and Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has released a statement as a Congressional hearing on millions of dollars in fraud on the payment network Zelle approaches.

Sen. Blumenthal says the banking giants, which are majority owners of Zelle, will have a chance to explain why they have failed to “fully protect” victims of fraud on the widely-used payments network.

“Year after year, Zelle and the banks that own it have failed to fully protect consumers from a growing threat of scams and fraud. 

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.”

Sen. Blumenthal says the Subcommittee has discovered that customers reported $456 million lost to Zelle scams in 2022, and only $341 million was reimbursed by the banks.

Cameron Fowler, the CEO of Zelle’s parent company Early Warning Services, will also testify at the upcoming hearing, set for Tuesday, July 23rd.

He will be joined by Melissa Feldsher, managing director and head of commerce enablement at JPMorgan Chase; Mark Monaco, head of global payment solutions at Bank of America; and Adam Vancini, executive vice president and head of payments for consumer, small and business banking at Wells Fargo.

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