Zelle, the payments network operated by bank-owned Early Warning Services (EWS), surpassed $1 trillion in total transaction volume last year, marking what it described as a record for a peer-to-peer platform.
On Wednesday, the company reported that its user base grew by 12% in 2024, reaching 151 million accounts, while the total dollars sent through the platform increased by 27% compared to the previous year.
Last year’s transaction volumes represented “by far the most money ever moved by a P2P payments service in a single year,” Zelle’s general manager, Denise Leonhard, told.
Launched in 2017 as a response to fintech competitors like Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App, Zelle offers several key advantages over these platforms.
EWS is owned by seven of the largest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, and the service enables instant money transfers within the banking apps of thousands of participating institutions.
Zelle’s growth in 2024 outpaced that of PayPal, which reported more than $400 billion in total P2P transaction volume.
The platform’s rapid expansion comes as it faces allegations that it, along with the three largest U.S. banks involved, did not adequately investigate fraud complaints or provide reimbursements to victims.
In response, Zelle has implemented measures to curb fraudulent activity, stating that 99.95% of its transactions are free from fraud and scams.
According to Leonhard, Zelle’s growth is being fueled by a shift among bank customers away from cash and checks, as well as increasing adoption by small businesses.
“People are using Zelle in order to do things like pay their rent or paying their nanny,” Leonhard said. “We want to continue to be top of mind for those consumers to be able to use this every day.”
