The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is investigating major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, for their handling of customer funds on the peer-to-peer payments platform Zelle, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday. The probe is driven by concerns about the proliferation of fraud and scams on Zelle, which is owned by seven major banks, and has attracted attention from U.S. lawmakers and regulators.
JPMorgan recently disclosed it was responding to the CFPB’s inquiries about Zelle and was considering whether to sue the consumer watchdog over its investigation. Banks argue that covering the costs of scams on Zelle could encourage more fraud and potentially result in billions of dollars in losses.
Spokespeople for JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America declined to comment, and the CFPB did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The investigation underscores growing regulatory scrutiny over consumer protection on digital payment platforms.
