Title: Zelle’s Remarkable Growth Story: Surpassing $1 Trillion in Annual Transactions
In the world of digital payments, Zelle has made a significant impact. The peer-to-peer electronic payment system, managed by bank-owned entity Early Warning Services, has made a record-breaking achievement by surpassing $1 trillion in transaction volumes last year. This achievement marks a significant milestone, making Zelle the leading platform for P2P transactions.
The company’s growth trajectory continued to ascend as the user base expanded by 12%, reaching 151 million accounts in 2024. Moreover, a surge of 27% in total dollar transactions on the platform was observed from the previous year.
Denise Leonhard, Zelle’s General Manager, shared with CNBC that the payment volumes in the past year were the highest ever moved by a P2P payment service in a single year.
The payment platform Zelle was launched in 2017 as a counter to fintech platforms like Venmo, PayPal, and CashApp. Zelle’s edge over these platforms is its ownership by seven of the largest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. This alliance allows Zelle to facilitate instantaneous money transfers within the applications of numerous member institutions.
Zelle’s growth rate in the last year has outpaced PayPal, which reported that total P2P payments volumes reached over $400 billion.
Zelle’s rapid ascent has not been without controversy as there have been allegations that the network, along with the three largest U.S. banks associated with it, did not adequately address fraud complaints or provide appropriate reimbursement to victims. However, Zelle has implemented measures to mitigate fraud and claims that 99.95% of its transactions are free from fraud and scams.
The surge in popularity and use of Zelle is attributed to bank customers increasingly opting for Zelle over cash or checks, and the adoption of Zelle as a payment option by small businesses. Leonhard explained that people are using Zelle for everyday transactions such as paying rent or compensating their nanny. She expressed the company’s desire to remain a top choice for consumers for their daily transactions.
