Payment platform Zelle will abandon its separate mobile application

Hannah Lang

(Reuters) – Peer-to-peer payments platform Zelle is transitioning users from its standalone mobile app to 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 promoted its mobile app when 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 participating in the Zelle network, only 2% of Zelle 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 apps, where most users prefer to send and receive payments, said Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle.

“Given that this is really a strategy and a lot of the use that we’re seeing of it, we’re really changing to strengthen it for the future,” she said.

The move underscores how widely Zelle has been adopted by US banks, despite competition from big tech rivals such as ApplePay and GooglePay.

A separate Zelle app will still be available, but it will be dedicated to educating consumers about scams and scams and will offer a list of participating firms on the Zelle network.

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

Reports of scams and scams on Zelle have drawn the attention of US lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as well as regulators concerned about consumer protection. Last year, banks in the Zelle network began returning money to fraud victims to address consumer protection concerns.

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