Zelle® Fast Facts: History, Data Points and Common Questions
Momentum, Trust and History
Zelle® is the go-to peer-to-peer payment method for millions of hardworking Americans. It is not just a popular way to send money; it’s a vital tool that’s transforming how money is sent by American consumers and small businesses across the country.
Last year, Zelle helped millions of American consumers and small business send $1 trillion. Zelle uses billions of ‘Trust Signals’ that allow us to identify patterns, pinpoint criminals and block scammers from using Zelle.
Key Zelle Data Points:
- 99.98% – the percentage of Zelle transactions currently completed without any report of scam or fraud. For perspective, you are more likely to get food poisoning (3%), be in a car accident (around 2%) or get injured by a toilet (0.07%) than experience fraud or scam related to Zelle as a payment method today. (Source: First Half of 2025 Transaction Press Release)
- 150+ million – the number of enrolled user accounts Zelle reaches (Source: 2024 Single Year Transaction Press Release)
- 7 million – the number of small businesses enrolled to use Zelle (Source: Deep Dive on SMB Data Press Release)
- 300% – the growth of Zelle used to pay small businesses over the last three years (Source: Deep Dive on SMB Data Press Release)
- 3-4 million – the estimated additional number of people that use Zelle to receive payments tied to independent or self-directed work (Source: Deep Dive on SMB Data Press Release)
- 2,300 – the number of banks and credit unions that provide Zelle (Source: First Half of 2025 Transaction Press Release)
- 95% – how many of the financial institutions that offer Zelle are community banks and credit unions (Source: First Half of 2025 Transaction Press Release)
Early Warning Services is the American company behind Zelle. It was founded to do something bold and essential: help banks outsmart criminals by sharing intelligence to help defeat the collective threat of financial fraud.
For more than 30 years, Early Warning has worked with banks and law enforcement to stop billions in fraud and financial crime with agencies ranging from the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service to local police.
Early Warning also works closely with federal agencies including the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank to stop hundreds of thousands of improper federal payments worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
That same expertise powers Zelle, helping protect the money of hardworking American consumers and small businesses every day.
Early Warning is also the company behind PazeSM, an online checkout experience/solution offered by participating banks and credit unions that makes it easy to check out online without having to share actual card numbers with the merchant.
Common Questions from the Media
Zelle is one of the most relied on digital payment networks in the U.S. and is available for American consumers who have an eligible U.S.-based checking or savings accounts to send and receive money – typically in minutes when both users are already enrolled.
Based on a survey of the financial institutions that offer Zelle, almost every bank or credit union that offers Zelle does so without charging consumers fees to send, receive or request money, making it a widely accessible and cost-effective service.*
*Based on a Q4 2024 survey of financial institutions offering Zelle® to their customers, 99.36% of consumer saving and checking accounts linked to Zelle® do not charge a fee to send, receive, or request money.
Yes, Zelle is safe when used as intended – with people and reputable small businesses you know and trust.
Currently, only 0.02% of all Zelle transactions result in a report of fraud or scam. While that number could always change as we bring new product features online and criminals continue to evolve their tactics, that means more than 99.98% of Zelle transactions are without report of fraud or scam, an extraordinary rate in payments.
The fact is scams don’t start on Zelle, they start with criminals manipulating people long before dollars move. It’s the criminals – both in the U.S. and in foreign countries – exploiting Americans through texts, DMs and online marketplace scams.
We need law enforcement, government, consumer advocates and industry working together to stop the actual criminals.
Zelle is not going anywhere. It is available through more than 2,300 banks and credit unions. The stand-alone app was seldom used, and because most people use Zelle in their financial institution’s mobile app or website, we decided to end support for it.
If fraud or a scam is suspected, consumers should immediately contact their financial institution, as they are required by law to investigate all fraud claims.
We can’t speak to the details of a specific customer because we don’t hold a user’s money or manage their accounts.
With other P2P platforms, a consumer’s money travels to, and is held by, a third party and is then sent to its destination.
If consumers believe they were a victim of fraud or a scam, they should contact their bank or credit union immediately.
However, Zelle requires financial institutions to reimburse customers 100% for all instances of confirmed fraud, going above what is required by law under the EFTA and Reg E.
Zelle also goes above and beyond what is required by law and requires reimbursement for certain qualifying imposter scams where the customer authorized the transaction.
It’s important to recognize that scams do not happen on Zelle, they happen before the payment method is chosen. That said, the reported rates of scam and fraud related to payments using Zelle are extremely low.
Currently, only 0.02% of all Zelle transactions result in a report of fraud or scam. While that number could always change as we bring new product features online and criminals continue to evolve their tactics, that means more than 99.98% of Zelle transactions are without report of fraud or scam, an extraordinary rate in payments.
Zelle continuously evolves its cutting-edge anti-fraud and scam technology to protect Americans, and is backed by Early Warning, a company with a 30-year financial crime-fighting legacy:
- Zelle uses billions of ‘Trust Signals’ that allow us to identify patterns, pinpoint criminals and block scammers from using Zelle.
- Protecting consumers is central to how Zelle operates, and our technology helps ensure that once bad actors are identified, they cannot return to the network.
- We have always enforced strong anti-fraud rules and deployed robust cutting-edge consumer protection technology since the network launched in 2017—and we move swiftly to find, investigate and fight threats.
- We provide next-generation predictive fraud detection technology at no cost to participating banks and credit unions, empowering them to proactively stop suspicious payments in real time—before money ever leaves a consumer’s account. This means we – and the financial institutions that offer Zelle – can quickly adapt as new fraud and scam trends occur.
Not every reported fraud claim is actual payments fraud. Every reported fraud claim is investigated by the financial institution, as required by law, and it can be determined that fraud was not committed.
Here are some examples where a customer may have made a fraud claim that was found not to be fraudulent:
- A customer may mistakenly report a forgotten purchase as a fraudulent transaction.
- Criminals may try and exploit the network by purposefully filing false claims.
- A customer may make a payment to a contractor who doesn’t adequately complete the agreed upon work. The customer may then file a fraud claim, but this is not payments fraud.
- Another family member may have authorized access to that individual's bank account and may have sent the payment.