Payments platform Zelle plans to add to its network this year amid growing demand for instant payments among consumers and small businesses 

Zelle, founded in 2017, has more than 2,200 banks and credit unions on its network across all 50 states — and growing, according to the company. Major financial institutions, including Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citi along with credit unions like Blue Federal Credit Union and Colorado Credit Union, are among the Zelle-enabled institutions. 

Ninety-five percent of those FIs are minority- or community-owned and/or are located in rural areas of the country, Denise Leonhard, general manager at Zelle, told Bank Automation News. “The banks and credit unions we work with are critical partners to our growth and we expect more financial institutions will become part of the network this year.”  

SMBs demand instant payments

Small business bank clients, for example, are flocking to Zelle due to its real-time capabilities, according to Zelle’s April small business report. The research was conducted by Nonfiction Research, Early Warning Services and Pereira O’Dell through 24 qualitative and 1,007 quantitative surveys from July 2024 through August 2024.  

“Payments go right into my bank account. I don’t have to go through a third party. I have access to the money immediately,” one small business owner said in the report. 

According to the payments platform: 

• Nearly 7 million small businesses are enrolled in Zelle; 

• Use of Zelle to pay small businesses has tripled in the past three years; and 

• 90% of small business owners surveyed said Zelle gives them a sense of certainty in today’s economic environment. 

Small businesses tap Zelle for: 

• Payroll;  

• Accepting payment; and 

• Rent. 

Instant payments rails take off

Alongside Zelle’s network expansion, instant payments rails, including The Clearing House’s Real Time Payments network and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow network, are also growing as more commercial uses are implemented.  

In fact, The Clearing House (TCH) in February raised its transaction limit on the Real Time Payments network to $10 million to add commercial transactions uses, Jim Colassano, senior vice president of product development at TCH, previously told BAN.  

This allows the network to expand into business-to-business traffic, Bridget Hall, leader of RTP for the Americas at tech provider ACI Worldwide, previously told BAN.  

“It’s very important to us to ensure we are increasing access to Zelle for these financial institutions because it helps them retain customers and stay competitive,” Leonhard said.