NCL urges Congressional action at hearing on Zelle and fraud

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May 21, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Consumers League (NCL) today urged Congress to move swiftly to enact new laws that will put a significant dent in the billions of dollars in fraud that occur annually via peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps. In testimony before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud John Breyault described fraud as reaching “crisis levels,” with estimates of annual losses to fraud exceeding $137 billion.  

“The same factors that have made P2P services popular with consumers – access via mobile device and near-instantaneous payment – have also attracted a tsunami of scammers,” said NCL Vice President John Breyault. “Unfortunately for consumers, the P2P services have failed to keep pace with this threat.” 

Breyault’s testimony focused on the unique role that P2P apps play in this fraud and the lack of consumer protections that result in the cost of scams falling on individual consumers. 

“Relying on consumers to accurately spot and resist fraudulent schemes run by sophisticated, professional criminals is unlikely to yield a more secure P2P payments system,” said Breyault. “We urge Congress and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to adopt regulations that put the onus for securing P2P platforms like Zelle where it belongs – on the banks and platforms themselves.” 

This is the second time this year NCL Vice President John Breyault has appeared before the Senate to advocate for stronger protections against fraud in our financial system. His full testimony can be found here.

Additional reading:

  • NCL VP testifies before Senate Banking Committee on the need for better protections against scams 
  • NCL releases Top Ten Scams report for 2023 fraud trends 

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.