The roster of big banks using Fiserv Inc.'s online personal payments system is growing with the addition of BBVA Compass.
The Birmingham, Ala., subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA said Monday that it is using the vendor's ZashPay person-to-person payments software to support its own service, Simple Personal Payments.
More "customers are demanding payment options that help them simplify their lives," Andy Hernandez, the director of channel development for BBVA Compass, said in a press release. "With ZashPay supporting our Simple Personal Payments service we have responded to this demand, expanding the functionality of our customers' online banking experience by making everyday personal financial tasks quicker and easier."
Fiserv unveiled ZashPay, a competitor to eBay Inc.'s PayPal subsidiary, last year. The service, which the Brookfield, Wis., vendor is marketing to banks, allows consumers to send money to each other from their bank accounts using an email address or mobile phone number.
In the quarter, 135 clients agreed to offer ZashPay, bringing the total number of financial institutions that have signed to offer the service to about 870, Fiserv said last week.
In July, Regions Financial Corp. announced it rolled out the service, allowing checking and money market customers that use its online banking website to send to or receive funds with anyone who has a U.S. bank account.
"The number of consumers and financial institutions enrolled in the ZashPay service is increasing each month, and BBVA Compass is an important part of the growing ZashPay network," Tony Catalfano, the division president for electronic payments at Fiserv, said in the release.
BBVA Compass customers can access Simple Personal Payments through the bank's online bill payment system. The bank charges customers a dollar to send a transaction.
U.S. households made more than $865 billion P-to-P payments through 11 billion transactions in the past year, according to a report released in October by Aite Group LLC based on an August 2010 survey of 3,190 consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
