Shazam Gives Cardholders Quicker Access To Cash

Shazam, a four-decade old financial services company, released a new feature yesterday (Feb. 5) to its Shazam Bolts app that gives debit card users access to person-to-person money transfers, as well as a GPS function that enables U.S. cardholders to find fee-free ATMs.

Already established as a fraud prevention service, Bolts will enable account holders to transfer money to other account users using Shazam’s existing debit rails rather than the traditional ACH payment method. Cardholders will be able to verify who has the service by using their email accounts logged with Shazam. In addition to the new service, the company has also launched an interactive ATM finder that helps locate ATMs that have the surcharge-free “Privileged Status,” as well as directions to get there. Bolts users can also check bank balances, as well as set up email alerts regarding changes to their account.

P2P transfers are growing fast, according to research firm Forrester. By 2019, it is estimated that $17 billion in volume will be moved using P2P payments as mobile commerce becomes more commonplace and alternative methods to ACH are implemented. In the United Kingdom, mobile payments service Paym has been increasing its market share thanks to young people using the service for small transactions among peers. For businesses, HSBC launched real-time mobile payments through the Paym service back in November, with the possible expansion to B2B and B2C through HSBC. Meanwhile in the United States, the payments community is still anticipating the results of a Federal Reserve study on how to speed up transactions and commerce, which may make it easier for banks and mobile carriers to implement P2P service, either through same-day ACH development, or through existing debit rails like Shazam is using for its service.