Zelle
About
Zelle is a payment service which can be used as an alternative to PayPal for transferring funds, but it's owned by a coalition of the most evil banks so isn't really that much of an alternative, even if it was as widely accessible as is PayPal (which it is not).
When originally deployed, it was only possible to send or receive money via one of two methods:
- the mobile app, via an account tied to one of their recognized banks (which presumably did not have to be a paying client, though this point was never clarified)
- the online banking site of a Zelle client bank (i.e. the bank signed up to use Zelle for money-transfers, presumably in exchange for some sort of fee paid to Zelle)
On 2025-01-15, Zelle sent out an announcement to its app users which stated, in part:
Effective April 1, 2025, you will no longer be able to send or receive money through the app. In order to continue sending or receiving money with Zelle®, you should enroll through one of the more than 2,200 banks and credit unions that offers Zelle® through their mobile app or online banking.
In other words, the first option above will no longer apply, and Zelle will only be available for sending or receiving via a client bank's online banking.
Links
Reference
Reviews
- Zelle Review: What You Need to Know: posted in 2019; comments include many negative reviews
- woozle: detailed history