The Convenience of HPay

Apr 15, 2024

If you’ve ever had to split a bill with a friend or shopped online, there’s a good chance you used a P2P payment system. There’s no question that person-to-person transfers, or P2P transfers, have gotten much faster and more convenient – but do you fully understand what you’re using?

Over the past decade or so, several popular P2P systems have cropped up, including Venmo®, Zelle® and more. Digital wallets such as Apple Pay® and Google Pay™ are also considered P2P systems, though their focus is more on paying for goods and services.

While each system has its own special quirks to try to set itself apart, their core functionality is the same: You register with a username, email or phone number, add your card or link your bank account, and then instantly send money to anyone in your contact list regardless of where they bank – as long as they live and bank in the U.S., at least.

The benefits of P2P are easy to see: In an increasingly digital age, paying someone back or letting friends borrow money has never been so easy. You don’t have to dig around for cash and wait to see them in person again, nor do you have to visit the physical bank or credit union to initiate a transfer that could take a few days – an option that doesn’t always make sense if you only owe a few bucks.

The Lowdown on P2P

While P2P systems are generally safe in how they encrypt your financial information, there is still a risk to using one. Since transfers are authorized instantly and are not processed through your bank or credit union, if you fall for a scam or accidentally send money to the wrong person, you may not be able to get that money back. This is especially true for Venmo, Zelle® and similar apps that focus on paying peers – it can be extremely difficult to reverse a transfer.

The other disadvantage to these third-party P2P systems like Venmo is that they require either a direct account link or else they charge a fee in order to deposit your app balance. Otherwise, the money is just stored within the app itself, which can be an inconvenience. The money is moved into your app’s account immediately, but a bank transfer can still take one-to-three business days.

Zelle®, on the other hand, is backed by major U.S. banks, and though it doesn’t allow you to link a credit card to it, there’s no fee to using it, and the money is available in your account right away.

And then, similar to Zelle®, there’s HPay – Honda FCU’s own P2P system.

How HPay Is Different

HondaFCU Pay, or HPay, is a direct part of our mobile app. This means the Honda FCU mobile banking app is your one-stop shop for your on-the-go banking needs!

There are a number of benefits to using HPay to pay friends and family who also bank at Honda FCU:

· Convenience. There’s no need to download another app or sign up with a separate account. Access it right from the Honda FCU mobile app and send money right away!

· Easy to Use. One of our priorities is our members’ experience. We keep it simple – and make it difficult to accidentally send money to the wrong person. All you need is their account number and account type and the first three letters of their last name.

· Secure. Since it’s a part of our mobile and online banking system, you benefit from the same up-to-date encryption and banking security you know and trust. And if you still accidentally send money to the wrong person, it’s much easier for us to reverse that charge, since it’s through your credit union.

Don’t have the mobile app? Download it today from your phone’s app store and start enjoying the added convenience to your life!

Remember: Honda Federal Credit Union will never contact you to ask you to make a transfer. If you receive a phone call, email or text message that you find suspicious, contact Honda FCU separately to verify its legitimacy.

Zelle® and the Zelle® related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC, and are used herein under license.

Sources:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/p2p-payment-systems

https://productmint.com/zelle-competitors-alternatives/