Zelle announced recently that it will phase out its standalone app over the coming months, redirecting users to access Zelle’s services through participating financial institutions.

This change reflects Zelle’s evolution and the growth in adoption by banks and credit unions, which now offer Zelle to the vast majority of users through their own mobile apps or online banking platforms.

Since its launch in 2017, Zelle has expanded its network to include over 2,200 financial institutions. In the first half of this year alone, nearly half a trillion dollars were moved through Zelle, marking a 28% increase year-over-year.

Today, around 98% of Zelle’s transactions are conducted within bank or credit union apps, with only about 2% occurring on the standalone app.

Given this shift, Zelle has decided to end new enrollments and transactions within the standalone app. Users of the standalone app are encouraged to transition to using Zelle within a participating bank or credit union’s app.

The standalone app will remain available for consumer education on scams and fraud, along with providing a directory of participating financial institutions.

Important Dates and Transition Details

Standalone app users are advised to transition to Zelle access through a participating financial institution by March 2025. Zelle is actively onboarding additional banks and credit unions to ensure users have access to the network.

During the transition, Zelle will provide in-app notifications and email communications to inform standalone app users of the upcoming changes. These users will have continued access to their transaction history until March 2025, and customer support will remain available to assist during the transition.

Impact on Consumers

This update will not affect the majority of Zelle users who already access the service through their financial institution’s mobile app or website.

However, standalone app users will need to re-enroll through a participating institution to continue sending and receiving payments on Zelle.

Users who have previously sent or received funds from standalone app users will also need to make the switch by March 2025.

This article, “Zelle to Phase Out Standalone App as Most Consumers Use Bank-Based Access” was first published on Small Business Trends