Bank-backed Zelle will offer its P2P service to core processor technology provider Finastra this year, Bank Innovation has learned. This move is an important part of Zelle’s onboarding strategy.

“Our goal is to onboard as many smaller banks, credit unions, community banks as possible, and this is where our partnerships with core-processors play an integral role in getting them on the network,” Ravi Loganathan, chief data officer at Early Warning Services LLC, the bank-owned company behind Zelle, told Bank Innovation. “As for banks, we currently have confirmed contracts with 200 plus FIs to get on the Zelle network.”

Mihail Duta, head of product management of payments solutions at Finastra, who told Bank Innovation of this partnership, could not disclose a specific timeline, except for saying that Zelle will be available on Finastra’s platform sometime this year.

Zelle is currently partnered with the core processors CO-OP Financial Services, Jack Henry, Fiserv, and FIS.

Partnering with core processors allows customers of community banks and credit unions, who are not connected to Zelle’s direct network, to link their accounts to the standalone Zelle app. Customers, whose banks are linked to Zelle via their core processor providers, can then use the P2P service as a separate app.

Also Read: Do Community Banks Really Need Zelle?

Ultimately, the goal is for these FIs to be able to provide Zelle within their own digital banking apps, “but think of the standalone app as an ‘in-the-meantime’ solution to getting as many people to use digital payments instead of checks,” Loganathan said.

So far, through the standalone Zelle app, customers from nearly 5,000 smaller FIs are represented, according to Loganathan.

We have 60 FIs live on Zelle,” Loganathan said, “that covers about 60% of the total DDA (Demand Deposit Account) in the country.”

Zelle does not set monthly goals to add FIs, Loganathan said. “It’s a case-by-case basis because each FI is at a different stage in the integrating process, and that depends on the FI, not Zelle. Right now we are trying to get the 200 plus FIs that have signed contracts onto the network as soon and seamlessly as possible.”

Zelle ended 2018 with a record quarter. It reported processing $35 billion in payments on 13 million transactions during the fourth quarter last year. The payment value represents a 61% year-over-year increase and transaction volume represents an 81% YOY increase. For the year of 2018, Zelle reported $119 billion in payments on 433 million transactions processed compared to $75 billion for 247 million transactions in 2017.

To learn more about payments, Join us for Bank Innovation Ignite 2019 on March 11-12 at the Hyatt Olive 8, Seattle. Early registration ends this Friday, February 1st at midnight. Register here to secure the lowest possible rate!