NEW YORK, NY/TAMPA, FL – Velera, the nation’s premier payments credit union service organization (CUSO) and an integrated financial technology solutions provider, and Zelle® today announced that Thinkwise Federal Credit Union (Thinkwise) is the first Minority Depository Institution (MDI) credit union to offer Zelle through the recently launched joint program designed to expand access to the popular person-to-person (P2P) payment service to MDI credit unions.

“Launching Zelle through Velera is an important step in our ongoing digital transformation,” said Heri Garcia, president and CEO of Thinkwise. “This partnership allows us to offer members a fast, reliable way to send and receive money while continuing to deliver the trusted, personalized service that has defined Thinkwise for more than seven decades."

Thinkwise selected Velera for its experience integrating Zelle and its alignment with credit union values, enabling a streamlined implementation that built on an existing operational relationship through participation in Velera’s Co-op Shared Branch network.

“Credit unions have long led with trust and community values, and access to modern, reliable payment tools is an important part of serving members today,” said Amy Evans, SVP, Strategic Solutions at Velera. “We’re honored to support Thinkwise through our partnership with Zelle, marking an important milestone in expanding modern P2P payment options for MDI credit unions and the communities they serve.”

Founded in 1952 as San Bernardino School Employees Federal Credit Union, Thinkwise serves more than 6,000 members and holds approximately $119 million in assets, with a longstanding commitment to cooperation, financial stewardship and community service.

“Expanding access to Zelle for MDI credit unions supports the vital role these institutions play in their communities,” said Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle. “Our partnership with Velera helps make that access possible for credit unions like Thinkwise.”

P2P payments continue to grow in importance. According to Velera’s 2025 Eye on Payments study, 74% of consumers use P2P payments at least periodically, with more than one-third of Gen Z and Millennials relying on them as a primary payment method.

Velera began providing Zelle services to Thinkwise in November 2025 as part of its partnership with Zelle, which launched in April 2025 to help expand credit union access to Zelle.

Today, more than 2,300 financial institutions offer Zelle to their customers and members, 95% of which are community banks and credit unions. Zelle is available from financial institutions of all sizes across all 50 states and today helps American consumers and small businesses send over $1 trillion annually.

Velera provides its credit unions with a simplified path to Zelle adoption, including seamless, branded integration via the credit union’s mobile app, real-time fraud detection tools and detailed reporting that supports enrollment, transaction monitoring and member engagement.

For more information on Zelle implementation for credit unions, visit velera.com/zelle-for-credit-unions. To learn more about MDI credit unions and the work the industry, Velera and Zelle are doing to support them, read this Velera blog.

About Velera

Velera is the nation’s premier payments credit union service organization (CUSO) and an integrated financial technology solutions provider. With over four decades of industry experience and a commitment to service excellence and innovation, the company serves more than 4,000 financial institutions throughout North America, operating with velocity to help its clients keep pace with the rapid momentum of change and fuel growth in the new era of financial services. Velera leverages its expertise and resources on behalf of credit unions and their members, offering an end-to-end product portfolio that includes payment processing, fraud and risk management, data and analytics, digital banking, instant payments, strategic consulting, collections, ATM and POS networks, shared branching and 24/7/365 member support via its contact centers. For more information, visit velera.com.

About Zelle®

Zelle® powers fast, reliable person-to-person digital payments, moving more than $1 trillion between millions of consumer and small business accounts at United States banks and credit unions. Available through a network of more than 2,300 financial institutions, Zelle® enables people to send and receive money directly – without cash, checks or third-party apps. Zelle® is owned and operated by Early Warning Services, LLC, which works with America’s banks, credit unions and government agencies to drive prosperity, deliver bold innovation and improve how payments are made. Learn more at www.zelle.com.

Media Contacts

Velera
Peyton Burgess
French/West/Vaughan
919.277.1168
velera@fwv-us.com

Zelle
Eric Blankenbaker
eric.blankenbaker@earlywarning.com
929.745.0923

NEW YORK, NY / CHARLOTTE, NC – Today, Zelle® and Bank of America announce a first-of-its-kind application of Zelle to enable charitable disbursements from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). The new capability allows nonprofits to receive charitable grant funding in near real time, replacing the traditional multi-week, paper-based process with fast and reliable digital payments using the Zelle network.

This new capability is part of Zelle® Forward, the network’s innovation agenda. Zelle is working with financial institutions to explore ways to expand into new, practical use cases. Americans now send more than $1.2 trillion annually using Zelle and increasingly rely on it for everyday needs like rent and childcare.

The new DAF proof of concept is being introduced through Bank of America’s Charitable Gift Fund, the bank’s donor advised fund, allowing donors to send charitable grants to a select group of nonprofit organizations via Zelle.¹ The speed and security of this delivery could help transform how charitable dollars flow from routine, planned donations to urgent situations like natural disasters and community level  crises, helping nonprofits access resources more quickly when they are needed most.

While the initial proof of concept is with Bank of America’s Charitable Gift Fund, the goal is to support broader use by financial institutions that offer Zelle and have donor advised fund programs.

“Zelle is a staple of the American economy and Americans are ready for it to do more,” said Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle. “Through Zelle® Forward, we are advancing practical new applications of the Zelle network, and this charitable grant delivery capability represents the first of many ways Zelle will continue to innovate and grow. By bringing the speed and reliability of Zelle to charitable grant delivery, we are helping funds reach nonprofits faster so organizations can stay focused on their missions.”

Bank of America’s Charitable Gift Fund provides clients with an organized, flexible, and tax-efficient way to support the causes they care about. Donors can contribute a variety of assets, invest for potential long-term impact, and involve family members. In 2025 alone, the Charitable Gift Fund distributed more than 100,000 grants, totaling over $1.3 billion to nonprofits.

“For nonprofits, deploying their resources quickly and effectively matters – whether responding to community needs or scaling vital services,” said Donald Greene, Donor-advised Fund Executive, Bank of America Private Bank. “By partnering with Zelle to develop this innovation, we’re giving both donors and nonprofits a more modern and responsive way to take in and make use of charitable contributions. This advancement strengthens our clients’ ability to support the causes they care about and accelerates the impact of nonprofits.”

Throughout 2026, Zelle will continue to explore additional innovations to help bring new capabilities to Zelle and deliver additional value across the American economy. Each program considers the evolving roadmap of the Zelle platform — ensuring innovation remains continuous, responsible, and aligned with real-world consumer needs.

About Zelle®

Zelle® powers fast, reliable person-to-person digital payments, moving more than $1 trillion between millions of consumer and small business accounts at United States banks and credit unions. Available through a network of more than 2,300 financial institutions, Zelle® enables people to send and receive money directly – without cash, checks or third-party apps. Zelle® is owned and operated by Early Warning Services, LLC, which works with America’s banks, credit unions and government agencies to drive prosperity, deliver bold innovation and improve how payments are made. Learn more at www.zelle.com.

About Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving nearly 70 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,600 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.

Media May Contact:

Zelle
Eric Blankenbaker
Eric.Blankenbaker@earlywarning.com
929.745.0923

Bank of America
Julia Ehrenfeld
Julia.Ehrenfeld@bofa.com
646.855.3267

Donor-advised fund management is provided by Bank of America Private Bank, a division of Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). Trust, fiduciary, and investment management services are provided by wholly owned banking affiliates of BofA Corp., including Bank of America, N.A. and its agents. Brokerage services may be performed by wholly owned brokerage affiliates of BofA Corp., including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”). Merrill is a registered broker-dealer, a registered investment adviser and Member SIPC.

¹ This is a limited pilot offered with participating institutions and is not currently available across the Zelle Network. Any future expansion would be informed by insights from this initial phase and is subject to platform readiness and network requirements.

DALLAS, Texas – Zelle® and Consumer Action launched the second year of their national scam and fraud consumer protection tour in Dallas, bringing hands-on training and resources directly to community leaders working on the front lines of consumer protection.

The Dallas workshop marked the first stop this year of a multi-city tour, building on last year’s events in New York City and Los Angeles. Designed to move beyond awareness, the program equips local organizations with practical tools to teach them how to help people in their communities recognize, avoid, and report scams before financial harm occurs.

Criminals often create fake profiles using stolen or AI-generated photos and build emotional connections over time. Many of these scams are run at scale by organized criminal networks, both domestic and foreign. Before money ever comes up, the damage is already happening at the identity level.

“Scams don’t start when money moves. They start with criminals manipulating people into trusting them,” said Mary-Helen McElfresh, vice president of smart payments for Zelle. “What we saw in Dallas reinforced how critical trusted local leaders are in empowering customers to avoid being scammed. When communities have the right knowledge, they’re better equipped to protect themselves.”

Since its launch, the initiative has trained nearly 100 community advocates across three U.S. cities, strengthening local capacity to protect consumers in an increasingly complex digital payments environment.

“Scammers adapt quickly, and we have to continue to educate our communities to keep pace,” said Anna Flores, executive director of Consumer Action. “By providing up-to-date, multilingual education tools to community leaders, we help ensure consumers feel confident spotting and resisting fraud.”

The Dallas event also featured a presentation from Dr. Jennifer Lawrence, DSW, LICSW, of FightCybercrime.org, who addressed how advocates can better support consumers. Her session focused on recognizing signs of active scams, responding effectively, and understanding the shame and isolation many criminal fraud victims experience.

The Dallas stop officially kicked off the 2026 leg of the tour. The next workshop is scheduled for West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 9.

About Zelle®

Zelle® powers fast, reliable person-to-person digital payments, moving more than $1 trillion between millions of consumer and small business accounts at United States banks and credit unions. Available through a network of more than 2,300 financial institutions, Zelle® enables people to send and receive money directly – without cash, checks or third-party apps. Zelle® is owned and operated by Early Warning Services, LLC, which works with America’s banks, credit unions and government agencies to drive prosperity, deliver bold innovation and improve how payments are made. Learn more at www.zelle.com.