Understanding Zelle

Zelle is a new bank-centric peer-to-peer (P2P) payments app that allows consumers to send and receive money from their mobile devices. Zelle establishes banks as the provider of choice for P2P payments and allows them to take back their share of the market from non-financial institutions, ensuring that they stay central to their customers’ financial lives. Rather than fragmenting the market with hundreds of apps, Zelle unites the financial services community behind a single, real-time P2P payments experience for millions of consumers. Banks in the Zelle network have seen P2P enrollments increase by as much as 300 percent since June 2017.

Customers access Zelle through their bank’s website and mobile app (if offered), or via the standalone Zelle app linked to their debit card. Equipped with an email address or phone number, customers can quickly, safely and easily send money to almost anyone, regardless of where they bank. Backed by the banking industry, Zelle can provide consumers unmatched security and convenience. Users do not have to give up sensitive bank account information to third parties, account details are not shared during transactions, and funds arrive directly in the recipients linked account.

Zelle was developed by Early Warning Services, a bank-owned technology services company. Early Warning’s vision is for a branded network that is offered by all banks and credit unions, widely-recognized by all types of consumers and universally acknowledged as the preferred digital payment solution in the country.

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Understanding Zelle is a supplement to the Fintech Playbook.