NEW YORK — Zelle is reporting that during 2025 a total of 337 financial institutions went live on its payment network or signed agreements to offer the service to customers/members during the year. About 97% of those institutions were community banks and credit unions with assets under $10 billion, it said.
The expansion made at least 13 million additional bank and credit union accounts eligible to use Zelle across 46 U.S. states and territories, according to the company.
“Zelle already reaches 80% of U.S. bank and credit union accounts, and last year was about widening access — deliberately and at scale,” Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle, said in a statement. She said deployment varies widely between rural credit unions and large metropolitan banks, prompting Zelle to expand reseller partnerships to reduce technology barriers and speed adoption.
Zelle is operated by Early Warning Services, a financial technology company owned by seven large U.S. banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, PNC, U.S. Bank and Truist.
The Most Common Transactions
The company said the most common Zelle transactions are for everyday expenses such as rent and recurring payments, including sharing utility costs with roommates. Zelle said that usage underscores its role in helping consumers support families, pay small businesses and manage essential payments.
Seeking to deepen access, Zelle noted it launched new reseller relationships launched last year. One program with Velera is designed to expand access for Minority Depository Institution credit unions, aiming to provide the same real-time payment capabilities available to larger institutions.
Zelle also announced a partnership with Alacriti to embed the service into its Orbipay Payments Hub, allowing community banks and credit unions to integrate Zelle through existing systems.
