SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Early Warning Services, LLC, the network operator behind Zelle®, announced its Q2 2021 transaction results, which include signed FIs representing more than 500 million DDA accounts. In Q2 2021, the Zelle Network® processed $120 billion on 436 million transactions. Year-over-year sent payment values increased by 68%, while payment transactions increased by 58%.

Credit Unions and Community Banks Turn to Zelle®

FI participants with less than $10 billion in assets now account for 40% of the Zelle Network®. Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union joins the network as the 1,000th FI to go live with Zelle®. "By offering Zelle® in our app, we are giving our 6,000 members a convenient way to transact digitally," said Andrea Thune, CEO of Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union. "Our members are considered part of our family and rely on us for banking services that adapt to their lives. By joining the Zelle Network®, we now give them a service that allows them to transact with their friends and family no matter where they may bank."

“Zelle® plays the role of digital cash for tens of millions of people and businesses, giving them a fast, easy and safe way to send and receive money in an app they use and trust," said Al Ko, CEO of Early Warning. “First responders and their families are an important community, and it is an honor for Zelle® to now be a part of the financial services offered by Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union.”

Zelle® Small Business Transactions Grow 157% Year- Over -Year

With the challenges of the past 18 months, businesses of all sizes have leveraged Zelle® when checks and cash were no longer options. Zelle® Small Business continues to be a fast-growth area in the network, growing 157% year-over-year.

Consumers should only use Zelle® to send and receive money with friends, family, and people they know and trust.

About Zelle®

Brought to you by Early Warning Services, LLC, an innovator in payment and risk management solutions, Zelle® makes it fast, safe and easy for money to move. The Zelle Network® connects financial institutions of all sizes, enabling consumers and businesses to send fast digital payments to people they know and trust with a bank account in the U.S. Funds are available directly in bank accounts generally within minutes when the recipient is already enrolled with Zelle®. To learn more about Zelle® and its participating financial institutions, visit www.zelle.com.

About Early Warning Services, LLC

Early Warning Services, LLC is a fintech company owned by seven of the country's largest banks. For almost three decades, our identity, authentication and payment solutions have been empowering financial institutions to make confident decisions, enable payments and mitigate fraud. Today, Early Warning is best known as the owner and operator of the Zelle Network®, a financial services network focused on transforming payment experiences. The combination of Early Warning's risk and payment solutions enable the financial services industry to move money fast, safe and easy, so people can live their best financial lives. To learn more about Early Warning, visit www.earlywarning.com.

Zelle and the Zelle related marks are property of Early Warning Services, LLC.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Early Warning Services, LLC, the network owner and operator of Zelle®, today responded to misleading reports of fraud and scams on the Zelle Network®.

Tens of millions of consumers safely use Zelle® every day with more than 99.9% of payments sent without any report of fraud or scams.

Any external analysis done is incomplete and does not reflect the efforts and data reported by more than 1,700 financial institutions on the Zelle Network®.

Wells Fargo is a leader in taking steps to protect its customers from fraud and scams. Based on data reported to the Zelle Network®, recent statements regarding Wells Fargo's fraud and scam rates are inaccurate. Wells Fargo's rates of reported fraud and scams are extraordinarily low and comparable to the Zelle Network® as a whole, where rates of reported fraud and scams represent less than 0.1% of all transactions.

About Zelle®

Brought to you by Early Warning Services, LLC, an innovator in payment and risk management solutions, Zelle® makes it fast, safe, and easy for money to move. The Zelle Network® connects financial institutions of all sizes, enabling consumers and businesses to send fast digital payments to people and businesses they know and trust with a bank account in the U.S. Funds are available directly in bank accounts generally within minutes when the recipient is already enrolled with Zelle®. To learn more about Zelle® and its participating financial institutions, visit www.zelle.com.

About Early Warning Services, LLC

Early Warning Services, LLC is a fintech company owned by seven of the country's largest banks. For almost three decades, our identity, authentication, and payment solutions have been empowering financial institutions to make confident decisions, enable payments and mitigate fraud. Today, Early Warning is best known as the owner and operator of the Zelle Network®, a financial services network focused on transforming payment experiences. The combination of Early Warning's risk and payment solutions enables the financial services industry to move money fast, safe, and easy, so that people can live their best financial lives. To learn more about Early Warning, visit www.earlywarning.com.

By: Chief Fraud Risk Management Officer Ben Chance, Early Warning Services

As temperatures heat up across the U.S., so does criminal activity.

At Early Warning Services, the network operator of Zelle®, our top priority is to provide a safe, reliable, and easy way for consumers to send money to people and businesses they know and trust. From 2022 through 2023 there was a nearly 50% decrease in reports of fraud and scam payments processed on the network. As a result, 99.95% of Zelle payments last year were completed without a report of fraud or scams – while we simultaneously grew our network and increased transaction volume by 28%. We are always working on new scam prevention techniques and technologies to build on our strong security foundation from Zelle. 

We are proud of the work we have done and remain relentlessly committed to these efforts to ensure that the 120 million consumers and small businesses who use Zelle for critical payments like rent, wages, emergency relief – and daily conveniences like birthday presents and splitting the cost of bills – can do so with peace of mind.   

Working in partnership with over 2,100 participating banks and credit unions, we have created a multi-layered approach that puts healthy friction in our system. That approach recently caught the attention of Kiplinger readers who named Zelle an “Outstanding Peer-to-Peer Payment Service of 2024” for its free and speedy transactions. This approach includes in-app messaging that validates the name of the intended receiver during the payment initiation, as well as additional security alerts prior to payment confirmation which reminds senders to only use Zelle to pay people they know and trust. Behind the scenes, we provide tools like Risk Insights for Zelle which is used by all of our participating financial institutions to help potentially identify suspicious payments. If there is a report of fraud or scam from a consumer to their financial institution, we use those reports to create fraud investigation cases and remove bad actors from our network.  

Our consumer education campaigns help empower Zelle users to identify common scams and avoid them, including our recent campaigns with the Better Business Bureau, Institute for Marketplace Trust and the National Council on Aging (NCOA). 

“Consumer fraud and scams are a costly issue affecting Americans of all ages and walks of life. The stakes are high – fraud and scams are a $1 trillion issue globally that we need to unify around as we help folks protect themselves in a rapidly evolving digital landscape,” says Jessica Johnston, senior director, Center for Economic Well-being, NCOA.   

There is no silver bullet to eliminate scams and fraud. It will take a mix of law enforcement, public policy, coordination across industries, technology, and vigilance by savvy consumers to stay ahead of crime. Here are a few tips to help Zelle users keep ahead of scammers and send money safely.

Only send money to those who you know and trust: Zelle is designed to send and receive money with family, friends and local businesses who you trust. The best way to ensure that you are keeping yourself and your money safe is to never use it to send money to a stranger whose identity you can’t verify. When setting up the payment, confirm you have your recipient’s correct U.S. mobile phone number or email address.   

If it sounds too good to be true, it is: Many scammers try to play on the emotions of potential victims by presenting them with incredible deals on sold-out experiences or on hard-to-get goods.  

Treat Zelle like cash: Though there are differences between Zelle and cash, it can be helpful to think of them in similar terms. Zelle is a way to provide a recipient with fast access to money that you send them. It can be an easy way to split the cost of the bill with friends or tip someone who provides a service. But just like your grandma wouldn’t mail a birthday card with cash inside without confirming your mailing address, when you use Zelle to send someone money you should make sure your money is going to the right contact.   

Ask for contact details, don't hand over your phone: Some in-person scammers and criminals are preying on the generosity of others by asking victims to hand over their phone to easily donate to a cause or pay for a good or service. Once the scammer has the victim’s unlocked phone, they send themselves hundreds or even thousands of dollars, with the victims unaware until they check their bank statements. It’s best practice to enter contact information yourself rather than handing over your phone to the person you are trying to pay.   

Beware of bank imposters: Some scammers convince unsuspecting victims to send funds or share log-in information through very convincing bank imposter scams, including incredibly convincing emails, phone calls, and text messages. If your bank reaches out to you asking to share private account information, to send funds to “reverse a transfer,” or to authorize a transaction you didn’t initiate, you should call your bank directly – using the number on your statements or the back of your card.   

Learn to spot and stop scams: Our participating banks and credit unions work tirelessly to keep their customers safe from fraud and scams. Many of them offer tips and comprehensive guides on their websites to help customers identify and avoid common scams. Next time you log into your banking app, check out the resources they offer around Zelle safety tips.  

In addition, you can learn more about fighting scam and frauds from the following education campaigns: 

• BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust and the Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA)
• National Council on Aging (NCOA)
• S.A.F.E. Squad 

By working together to advance scam prevention, and remaining vigilant as individuals, we can help Zelle users securely send and receive money quickly and easily with people they know and trust.