Monday, October 15, 2018

OAS FCU's conversion, part 2: the new P2P service


Now that conversion date is near, we’re running the closed beta testing of various integrated systems. I’m trying out different services that are available via the new Online Banking, and today I’m going to tell you about the Person to Person payment (P2P) wallet service, since I just tested it and it’s awesome.

In a nutshell, P2P allows you to use your debit card to give and receive funds to and from anyone who has an account in a financial institution in the US. You’re out with friends and
Image: Roman Kraft - Unsplash.
time comes to split the bill? You pullout your phone and send the funds instantly, no need to worry about counting cash. Or you bought tickets for a concert and your friends forgot to pay you the night you went to see it? No problem, you ask him money via the system’s text message or email request, and she can pay you via OAS FCU’s P2P, even if she isn’t a member!

The payment processing couldn’t be easier, by the way. I’m going to show it to you using screenshots that I took myself during the beta so you can see. It’s just peanuts.

First off you get the terms of use and agreement to read before you can use the service. It’s a long text, as they always are, but this one’s rather easy to read (hehe, I know that because I wrote it!). It explains, among other things, how the service has no monthly fee but you pay just $1 per transfer, that there’s a maximum of $500 per payment and a maximum of $2,000 per day.


After that you’re in, and the first page asks you to enter your debit card info. You enter it once and it never asks you again. Well, at least until it expires or it gets cancelled for whatever reason:


It couldn't be easier. 
Then you have a screen to enter the payment beneficiary’s information, and the payment amount. If you live in the US, you have the possibility of sending the alert to the other person via text message or emails. If you live in another country, you send an email alert, which is what I did. You enter the name, the amount, the email or phone number, and a reason for the payment, if you want. And that’s it for this screen.
As you can see, the new Online Banking has a ver clean and clear look. 






Next comes what –honestly- left me gaping. You have to enter your card’s PIN number. But, since we live in the technology era, there are many risks associated to data theft in almost every environment, so OAS FCU’s “pin pad” is a screen-only virtual keypad that will effectively thwart any attempt of tracking cursor movements to copy a person’s PIN number as they click it in. Here’s how.

You can’t enter your PIN via your keyboards; you have to do it via your cursor and mouse (or finger, in the case of the mobile app). The catch that makes this pin pad unbreakable? The numbers are not in numerical order and, after every single digit, their order shifts once again.

I took two screenshots of my pin pad to show you what I mean. The numbers 'moved' after every digit and, once I had entered all 4, the Submit button turned green. So I sent my transfer. The beneficiary received the alert email about 30 seconds later.





And here’s the screen that confirmed the delivery of my payment. From beginning to end, it took about 3 minutes. Next time it won't take half as long because my debit card number is already in the system.