by Chris McCullough
I’ve been in the banking business for about 40 years, so I’ve seen a lot of changes in the financial industry. The influx of new products over the last decade has been absolutely amazing.
I remember when the ATM was introduced in the mid 1970s but it didn’t become a mainstay at banks until the early 1980s. Now, it seems a fascinating new product comes out every six months or so that strikes a chord with the public.
Over the last decade, we’ve gone from bank customers being forced to visit a branch or use an ATM, to customers enjoying telephone banking, online banking and mobile banking. A wonderful product to recently join the banking ranks is Popmoney, the ability to make person-to-person payments online just by knowing the other person’s name and e-mail address or mobile phone number.
So imagine you are out to lunch with a co-worker and, heaven forbid, end up in a restaurant that doesn’t accept debit or credit cards and you don’t have any cash on you. Your co-worker has cash and picks up the tab. There’s no need to search for a nearby ATM or track your co-worker down later. Instead you can use Popmoney to send them your portion using just their name and mobile phone number.
It’s a wonderful product that comes in handy for consumers looking to make a low-level payment. It’s perfect for the parent sending cash to a college student or for buying tickets to a fundraising event, provided the charity is set up to receive the payment. The recipient can get the payment in as little as one business day and both the sender and recipient receive notification of where the payment is in the process.
Many financial institutions, including Rabobank, offer Popmoney to their customers. There is a small fee to send a payment, but at most institutions it is less than $1. Stop by your banking establishment and ask about Popmoney.
Chris McCullough is Rabobank, N.A. Vice President and Branch Manager in Murrieta. Rabobank, N.A. has 119 retail branches in California, including Murrieta.