NEW YORK (AP) – Splitting the bill for those pizzas you shared with your buddies or that utility bill that is suddenly due is going to get easier and faster even if you don’t all use the same bank.
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and other big banks are upgrading their online payment services to let customers make instant transfers of money to others who bank elsewhere, often at no cost.
The move comes as traditional banks face pressure from payment companies like Venmo and Square Cash that that offer ways to split the bill.
Banks developed online services that allow their customers to send money to anyone with a phone number or email address several years ago. But the services were considered overly complicated. Until last year, bank customers could only send money to another customer the same bank. The only option bank customers often had to send money instantly to another person was a wire transfer, which can cost upward of $30 at a branch, or to use a service like Western Union, which also charges a fee.
When the option to send money to person at a different bank became available, the service would take upward of three days to complete. Venmo and Square Cash, on the other hand, are open to anyone with a debit card and work in as little as one business day.