Early Warning Services: What It Does and Company History

Early Warning Services LLC, a privately held financial technology (fintech) company owned by seven major banks, owns several companies including Zelle, a money transfer app. It also provides identity, authentication, and payment solutions for banks, governments, and payment systems companies.

Learn more about what Early Warning Services does, about its money transfer app, and how you can request a copy of the company’s consumer report on your banking history.

What Early Warning Services Does

Early Warning Services is fintech owned by seven major U.S. banks: Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), PNC Financial Services Group (PNC), Truist Financial Corp. (TFC), U.S. Bancorp (USB), and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC). It also provides identity, authentication, and payment solutions, including Zelle, a money transfer app.

The company also provides check- and bank-screening services. Its fraud detection and prevention services for bank accounts and payment transactions are designed to assist banks; companies that accept checks, like retailers; and other financial institutions. In all, Early Warning Services connects with more than 2,500 financial institutions, government organizations, and payment companies.

Consumer Reporting

Early Warning Services does not generate credit scores for consumers, but, as a consumer reporting agency, it does provide information to banks and financial institutions about consumers to help banks determine whether to provide products and services. The information, gleaned from thousands of financial institutions, helps banks detect fraud and assess risk.

You are entitled to request a copy of your consumer report from Early Warning under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and you will not be charged a fee. You can receive one free report every 12 months.

Early Warning Services’ History

Early Warning Services has been providing information to banks and financial institutions for more than three decades. The company often has a role in a bank’s decisions to approve financial products and services like checking accounts and mortgages.

In the 1990s, several banks formed an independent company after they developed a model to mitigate deposit losses by sharing data. The company first launched its check deposit and payment validation products, followed by an account fraud detection service and fraud data sharing in the early 2000s.

Next, the company branded itself as Early Warning as it added services for real-time check deposits, account opening services, and identity risk services. Soon, it added more fraud protection offerings, including high-risk transaction alerts for ID theft agencies. It also added asset verification services.

Finally, Early Warning launched an enhanced mobile suite and offered multifactor authentication through a single platform. In 2017, it launched the Zelle Network as a real-time payment transfer service, which it has been enhancing in recent years.

The Bottom Line

As a fintech company, Early Warning Services is regularly adding to its service and product offerings that help banks minimize risk and fraud. It also provides a number of services to consumers, including its Zelle money transfer app and its consumer reports.