Zelle: What Is It And Which Banks Use It
If youve ever sent or received money, or transferred funds between banks, youre probably used to the fact that it can take several days until the transaction is completed and the money arrives at its final destination.
But recently, you may have come across the choice to use Zelle as a way to send money. What is Zelle, and whats so great about it? And while were at it, what banks use Zelle?
Send And Receive Money With Friends And Family
Union bank now offers Zelle® – a fast, safe and easy way to send money in minutesto friends, family and others you trust, right from the Union Bank mobile app. Since it’s available within our mobile banking app, you don’t need to download anything new to start sending and receiving money to and from almost anyone you trust with a bank account in the U.S.
And getting started is easy.
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1 Transactions typically occur in minutes when the recipient’s email address or U.S. mobile number is already enrolled with Zelle.
2 Must have a bank account in the U.S. to use Zelle.
3 In order to send payment requests or split payment requests to a U.S. mobile number, the mobile number must already enrolled with Zelle.
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What If I Want To Send Money To Someone Whose Bank Or Credit Union Doesnt Offer Zelle
You can find a full list of participating banks and credit unions live with Zellehere.
If your recipients bank or credit union isnt on the list, dont worry! The list of participating financial institutions is always growing, and your recipient can still use Zelle by downloading the Zelle app for Android and iOS.
To enroll with the Zelle app, your recipient will enter their basic contact information, an email address and U.S. mobile number, and a Visa® or Mastercard® debit card with a U.S. based account . Zelle does not accept debit cards associated with international deposit accounts or any credit cards.
You Must Have The Most Recent Version Of The Fnb Mobile Banking App
Thereafter, simply log in and select Zelle to confirm your email address or U.S. mobile phone number to get started.
We recommend you enroll before someone sends you money this will help you get your first payment faster. You can find a full list of participating banks and credit unions on the Zelle website.
If your recipients bank isnt on the list, dont worry! The list of participating financial institutions is always growing, and your recipient can still use Zelle by downloading the Zelle app for Android and iOS.
To enroll with the Zelle app, your recipient will enter their basic contact information, an email address and U.S. mobile number, and a Visa® or Mastercard® debit card with a U.S. based account . Zelle does not accept debit cards associated with international deposit accounts or any credit cards.
You can send money to friends, family and people you know. 5 We recommend you ask people to enroll with Zelle before you send them money this will help them get your payment more quickly.1 Since money is sent directly from your bank account to another persons bank account within minutes,1 its important to only send money to people you trust, and always ensure youve used the correct email address or U.S. mobile number. Zelle should not be used to send money to people you dont know or to purchase goods.
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How Long Does It Take To Receive Money With Zelle
Money sent with Zelle is typically available to an enrolled recipient within minutes*.
If you send money to someone who isnt enrolled with Zelle, they will receive a notification prompting them to enroll. After enrollment, the money will move directly to your recipients account, typically within minutes*.
If your payment is pending, we recommend confirming that the person you sent money to has enrolled with Zelle and that you entered the correct email address or U.S. mobile phone number.
If youre waiting to receive money, you should check to see if youve received a payment notification via email or text message. If you havent received a payment notification, we recommend following up with the sender to confirm they entered the correct email address or U.S. mobile phone number.
Still having trouble? Call our customer support team at 608-4388 so we can help you.
How Does Zelle Work
Unlike Venmo, money transferred using Zelle moves directly from one bank account to another. Most banking transfers between accounts require account numbers to initiate transactions, and these transactions can take up to several business days. Zelle eliminates this need, allowing users to transfer funds from one checking account to another in a matter of minutes.
To initiate a transfer, all you need is the email address or phone number of the person you’re sending money to. Zelle sends the recipient a text or email indicating there’s a payment waiting for them, along with a link to accept it. If the recipient’s bank is a participating partner, the recipient simply needs to register for the service through their bank’s website or mobile app with an email address or phone number.
Once registered, the recipient can accept the payment, though first-time users may have to wait up to three days to receive payment. If the recipient’s bank is not a participating member, they can still receive the funds by downloading the Zelle mobile app, registering with an email or phone number, and entering a debit card to receive the funds.
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How To Use Zelle
Youll need to sign up with Zelle to use it, and whether or not your bank supports Zelle will change how easy it is to use.
How to send money with Zelle
Sending money with Zelle can be done in just a few steps, either through your banks mobile app, the web or the Zelle mobile app for Android and iOS.
How to receive money with Zelle
Receiving money with Zelle shouldnt take long after receiving your payment notification, but payments through a debit card may take a few days or more.
What If I Get An Error Message When I Try To Enroll An Email Address Or Us Mobile Number
Your email address or U.S. mobile phone number may already be enrolled with Zelle at another bank or credit union. Call our customer support team at 608-4388 and ask us to move your email address or U.S. mobile phone number from the financial institution where you initially enrolled to your desired bank account so you can use it for Zelle.
Once customer support moves your email address or U.S. mobile phone number, it will be connected to your Partners Bank account so you can start sending and receiving money with Zelle.
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What If My Bank Isnt In The Zellenetwork
Today, over 100 million people have access to use Zelle® directly through their banking app no additional downloads necessary! But, even if you dont have Zelle® available through your bank or credit union, you can still use it! in the App Store or Google Play and enroll an eligible Visa® or Mastercard® debit card. After you enroll, you can send and receive money with confidence to almost anyone you trust. Find out if your financial institution offers Zelle®.
Important: While you can typically use Zelle® with people at different banks, at least one person must have a bank in the Zelle Network in order to send and receive money.
Is There A Limit On How Much You Can Transfer With Zelle
If your bank isnt a Zelle partner, you have a weekly transfer limit of $500 when using Zelle. If you use a partner bank, your bank may set limits on the amount of money you can transfer. These limits may be daily, weekly, monthly, or some combination, so the best way to find out if your bank limits how much you can transfer is to contact your bank directly.
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How Does It Work
Zelle has over 800 partner financial institutions. As long as the person either transferring or receiving the money belongs to one of these institutions, transferring money is a seamless, quick process.
Zelle can be accessed through your banks mobile app if they are a Zelle partner or through Zelles app. After youre enrolled, you can send money simply by having the email address or the phone number of the person you want to send money to.
Once you send money, the recipient will receive it in their bank account in minutes. If they arent already enrolled with Zelle, theyll receive a notification telling them how to access their money.
Bad Publicity Seems To Get Good Results
However, when local TV news broadcasts aired the five women’s stories, Bank of America suddenly changed its mind. The victims all got their money back. Bank of America told KGO-TV that it considers each case individually.
If this sounds familiar, Tom’s Guide reported on similar cases just two months ago. Two Chicago-area women were each scammed out of $3,500 using the exact same scam described above. Both women got their money back after WLS-TV asked Bank of America about the incidents.
The same thing happened to a woman in Texas Bank of America washed its hands of the $3,000 she lost until a Dallas TV station started asking questions.
For the Chicago story, we reached out to Zelle for comment and were told that these cases were “not a breach of Bank of America or Zelle security.”
“We’d like to remind consumers that your bank will never call you to ask for sensitive information and they would not ask a customer to transfer funds between accounts in order to prevent fraud,” Zelle said.
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How To Protect Your Bank Account From Zelle Scams
Zelle is fast and convenient, but that’s also its weakness. Unlike its rival Venmo, it has direct access to your bank account, so once you authorize a transaction, the money moves as quickly as possible.
Furthermore, Zelle fraud falls into a legal gray area. Some experts say that fraud victims are protected by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the same law that limits a consumer’s losses due to credit-card fraud. Under the EFTA, these experts say, victims of electronic-fund-transfer phishing scams should be reimbursed by the banks for their losses.
However, many banks claim that because the victims trust the fake bank representatives and in fact do authorize the transactions, those do not qualify as “unauthorized transactions” under the law. As a result, these banks argue, they bear no responsibility.
We’ve reached out to the government’s Consumer Finance Protection Bureau for clarification.
Because of these technical and legal factors, it might be safer to use Venmo. Payments from Venmo draw money either from a credit or debit card, which have clear legal protections for consumers, or from a limited Venmo account into which you can deposit money for future transactions.
Many banks build Zelle right into their mobile apps, however, and some victims have been scammed before they even knew they had Zelle accounts. Contact your bank and ask if that’s the case with its mobile app, and if so, if and how you can deactivate Zelle.
What Types Of Payments Can I Make With Zelle
Zelle is a great way to send money to friends, family and people you are familiar with such as your personal trainer, babysitter or neighbor**.
Since money is sent directly from your bank account to another persons bank account within minutes*, Zelle should only be used to send money to people you trust.
Neither Partners Bank, nor Zelle, offers a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle for example, if you do not receive the item you paid for or the item is not as described or as you expected.
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Unfortunately You Cannot Use Zelle To Send Money Abroad
Its difficult to imagine our lives today without online payment services and mobile wallets. We appreciate how easy these have made it for us to enjoy online shopping. More importantly, though, theyve made quick payments and sending money to our near and dear almost effortless.
The problem? We have access to money-transfer and payment providers like Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App, all of which come with various benefits. And yet, were always on the hunt for the best deal, especially when sending money internationally. Sadly, some providers dont offer such services, or worse, top each transfer with ridiculously high fees. Zelle is one of them, as it sadly does not let us send money abroad.
Since Zelle works only within the US and when using US bank accounts, its impossible to use its services to send money internationally. The provider doesnt support accounts based in US Territories either. These include:
- US Virgin Islands
- Guam
- American Samoa
Also, Zelle does not accept all cards but instead focuses on debit cards . You cannot use its services with:
- International cards
- Prepaid cards issued by financial institutions that arent a part of the Zelle Network
- Gift cards
What Else Can I Use Zelle For
Zelle is best for sending money to friends and family but offers some additional features that you can take advantage of in the right circumstances.
- Using Zelle with a small business. Zelle supports transactions between users and small businesses so long as the small business bank account is a registered Zelle partner. Only use this service to pay small businesses that you trust, as you wont be able to cancel payments through Zelle if you are unsatisfied.
- Using Zelle for disbursements. After creating your account and enrolling with Zelle, you can use your Zelle account to receive disbursement payments from organizations, companies, the government and more. Typical reasons for using this service include insurance payouts, claim settlements, refund checks and similar situations.
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Why Do People Love Zelle
Zelle has an extensive network of financial institutions across the US and is backed by some of the largest banks in America such as Capital One, Wells Fargo, and US Bank.
This is beneficial because it makes the app more credible and reliable.
In addition, the diverse network of partners allows users more flexibility when it comes to sending money to friends and family across the country.
Additionally, Zelle transfers money nearly instantly, and it is one of the only payment transfer options that does not charge a transaction fee.
How Do I Use Zelle
You can send, request, or receive money with Zelle. To get started, log into your mobile banking app and select Send Money with Zelle®. Following the prompts, enter the information requested, accept the terms and conditions, and youre ready to start sending and receiving with Zelle.
To send money using Zelle, simply select someone from your mobile devices contacts , add the amount youd like to send and an optional note, review, then hit Send. In most cases, the money is available to your recipient in minutes*.
To request money using Zelle, choose Request, select the individual from whom youd like to request money, enter the amount youd like to request, include an optional note, review and hit Request***.
To receive money, just share your enrolled email address or U.S. mobile phone number with a friend and ask them to send you money with Zelle.
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What Banks Use Zelle
Zelle is compatible with nearly all major banks, and most even have the service integrated into their mobile banking app. Consumers who download Zelle’s standalone app must provide a phone number or email and debit card information to be able to receive and send funds.
As long as you have a Visa or Mastercard debit card, you can download Zelle and use the application to send money. If your bank already works with Zelle, you’ll be directed to your bank’s mobile app, as long as you have it downloaded on your device.
To see the full list of banks that work with Zelle, refer to this list.
Im Unsure About Using Zelle To Pay Someone I Dont Know What Should I Do
If you dont know the person, or arent sure you will get what you paid for , you should not use Zelle for these types of transactions.
These transactions are potentially high risk . Neither Partners Bank nor Zelle offers a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle for example, if you do not receive the item you paid for or the item is not as described or as you expected.
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