Zelle’s payment platform takes users away from a standalone mobile app

Hannah Lang

(Reuters) – Peer-to-peer payments platform Zelle is moving users away from its standalone mobile app in favor of using the platform through banking apps, Zelle’s parent company said on Thursday.

Zelle, a payments network owned by seven banks including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, initially marketed its mobile app after it launched in 2017 to users whose financial institutions had not yet joined the network.

But now, with more than 2,200 banks and credit unions in the Zelle network, only 2% of Zelle’s transactions are made through the mobile app, according to Early Warning Services (EWS), the banking company that owns Zelle.

As a result, Zelle will focus on improving its functionality in banking applications, where most users choose to send and receive payments, said Denise Leonhard, Zelle’s general manager.

“Given that’s really the strategy and most of the usage that we’re seeing, we’re really coming back to strengthen that going forward,” she said.

The move underscores how widely Zelle is used by U.S. banks, despite competition from big tech rivals like ApplePay and GooglePay.

A separate Zelle app will continue to be available, but it will be dedicated to educating consumers about fraud and scams, and will offer a list of participating businesses in the Zelle network.

Users of the standalone Zelle app will need to re-register with their bank or credit union to be able to send and receive payments online starting in March 2025.

Reports of scams and fraud at Zelle have drawn the attention of US lawmakers, including Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, as well as regulators concerned about consumer protection. Last year, banks in the Zelle network began issuing refunds to fraud victims to address consumer protection issues.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by David Holmes)