Zelle App Shutdown: How to Continue Using the Popular Payment Service

Published: 4/4/2025, 12:01:35 AM EDT

Zelle App Shutdown: How to Continue Using the Popular Payment Service — Zelle app in iPhone app store on April 3, 2025. (Cynthia Cai/NTD)

The standalone app for Zelle has been discontinued as of Tuesday, requiring users to access the service through their banking apps instead.

Early Warning Services, the operator of Zelle, announced in October 2024 that they would be "phasing out the ability to enroll and transact within the standalone app" over the following months. The company cited that about 98 percent of Zelle transactions already take place in financial institutions' mobile apps or websites rather than through the standalone Zelle app.

"The vision for Zelle has always been a solution that allows people to send and receive money to and from those they know and trust directly between bank accounts," according to the press release from Zelle. "Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution's mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur."

How to Continue Using Zelle

Users who currently rely on the standalone app will need to re-enroll through their bank or credit union's mobile banking application. According to Zelle, more than 2,200 financial institutions now offer the service.

To find out if your financial institution offers Zelle, you can check the list of participating banks and credit unions on Zelle's website or contact your bank directly.

Customer service and access to transaction history have also been discontinued for users of the standalone app, as of March 2025.

Growth and Challenges

Since its 2017 launch, Zelle has grown substantially, with consumers and small businesses transferring nearly half a trillion dollars through the network in just the first half of 2024. For the first time ever, Zelle said in February that users sent over $1 trillion in 2024, the most money ever sent by a person-to-person payment service in a single year.

“Zelle is not just a popular way to send money, it’s a vital tool that’s transforming how money moves across America,” said Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle, in a February press release. “It is the go-to peer-to-peer payment method for millions of hardworking Americans, and this milestone is a testament to the trust they place in us every day.

A total of 151 million users were enrolled in the payment service in 2024, an increase of 16 million from 135 million in 2023.

Zelle’s growth hasn’t always gone smoothly, however. In December, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit against Early Warning Services and three major banks—Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo—alleging the institutions failed to protect consumers from fraud on the Zelle network.

"The nation's largest banks felt threatened by competing payment apps, so they rushed to put out Zelle," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a press release at the time. "By their failing to put in place proper safeguards, Zelle became a gold mine for fraudsters, while often leaving victims to fend for themselves."

The CFPB alleged that customers from these banks lost more than $870 million over Zelle's seven-year existence related to insufficient consumer protections.

Early Warning Services said in their latest announcement that the standalone app will be repurposed to focus on "consumer education about scams and fraud" and provide information about participating financial institutions.

The company stated it remains "committed to implementing policies and giving consumers tools and educational resources to get the most out of Zelle and be better educated in order to avoid scams and fraud."