Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Early Warning Services are standing firm against allegations made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today. 

This morning, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against Zelle parent company Early Warning Services, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo alleging the institutions failed to safeguard consumers from fraud, resulting in “hundreds of millions of dollars in consumer losses.” 

“Rather than going after criminals, the CFPB is jeopardizing the value and free nature of Zelle, a trusted payment service beloved by our customers,” a JPMorgan spokesperson told Bank Automation News. 

The banks and Early Warning Services do not want the allegations to impact the use of the peer-to-peer payments service, which is relied upon by 143 million American consumers and small businesses.  

Of all payments made through Zelle, 99.95% are sent without a report of fraud, according to Zelle’s statement to BAN today. 

Responses to CFPB

We are fully prepared to defend this meritless lawsuit to ensure [customers’] service doesn’t suffer.”

— Early Warning Service Vice President of Communications Jane Khodos   

“We strongly disagree with the CFPB’s effort to impose huge new costs on the 2,200 banks and credit unions that offer the free Zelle service to clients.”
— Bank of America spokesperson   

“As a last-ditch effort in pursuit of their political agenda, the CFPB is now overreaching its authority by making banks accountable for criminals.”

— JPMorgan spokesperson  

CFPB investigation

The CFPB began its investigation of Zelle in 2021 and will take action “where we see violations of the law,” a CFPB spokesperson told BAN. “The CFPB makes its enforcement decisions based on case-specific assessments of the facts and legal violations.”  

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