Consumers and businesses reportedly sent 1.8 billion payments via the Zelle Network during 2021, an increase of 49% from a year prior, Early Warning Services, LLC, the network operator behind Zelle, confirmed on February 2, 2022. Those payments “totaled $490 billion, up 59%.”
Al Ko, CEO at Early Warning, stated:
“Our growth in 2021 shows how consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to their banking app and Zelle® for the moments that matter – where trust, ease, and speed are of the utmost importance. We’re proud to be a leader in the market. In 2022, we commit to doing more to continue to help make Zelle® fast, easy and safe for consumers to send and receive money while also helping businesses improve their cash flows and secure their digital payment experiences.”
Businesses, including property managers, contractors, and health and beauty providers, depended on Zelle for sending and receiving funds throughout the year.
Last year, payments received by small businesses surged 162% over the previous year’s totals. Fortune 500 firms, universities, and national non-profits also “turned to Zelle® when disbursing funds to the public as a fast and safe alternative to sending checks.”
Talie Baker, Strategic Advisor with Aite-Novarica’s Retail Banking & Payments practice, remarked:
“Since its launch in 2017, Zelle® has rapidly grown to become the largest U.S. P2P payments network by total payments value sent, with payment flows that are now twice the size of the next largest standalone competitor. While the market has seen tremendous growth, Zelle® is leading the way in total payment value and in record time. A testament that if financial institutions build it, they will come.”
Currently, consumers of around 10,000 financial institutions—an increase of 3,000 financial institutions within the past year—”participate in the Zelle Network®, whether accessing Zelle® through their financial institution’s mobile banking app or enrolling their debit cards in the Zelle app.”
Consumers should only use Zelle “to send and receive money with friends, family, and businesses they know and trust,” the update noted.