Zelle® Widens the On-Ramp for Community Banks and Credit Unions: 337 New Bank and Credit Unions Went Live or Signed in 2025

Zelle® Widens the On-Ramp for Community Banks and Credit Unions: 337 New Bank and Credit Unions Went Live or Signed in 2025

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Zelle^® today reported that in 2025 it continued to scale its network, expanding access to more community banks and credit unions seeking real-time payment capabilities:

• 337 financial institutions went live or signed up to bring Zelle to their customers during 2025.
  
  
• 97% were community banks and credit unions with assets of less than $10 billion and that serve a broad range of Americans – from rural farmers and teachers to flight attendants, small business owners, and historically underserved Black communities.
  
  
• This growth represents at least 13 million bank and credit union accounts eligible to use Zelle within 46 U.S. states and territories.

"Zelle already reaches 80% of U.S. bank and credit union accounts and last year was about widening access – deliberately and at scale," said Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle. "Deployment looks very different at a rural community credit union than at a major metro bank, and not every institution starts with the same tech stack. That's why we moved decisively to expand our reseller partnerships – helping reduce the technology lift, accelerate adoption and extend Zelle to more communities, all while maintaining the consumer protection standards and reliability that define the network."

Zelle is playing a critical role in America's affordability story. In fact, the most common Zelle payments on any given day go toward essential living expenses like rent and monthly recurring payments like sending money to a roommate for utilities.¹ Zelle isn't just about convenience – it's part of how Americans support their families, contribute to small business success, and remain connected to the communities they help make vibrant. That broad, real-world usage underscores why increased access to Zelle matters – especially for community financial institutions – so all Americans have the same fast, reliable way to manage essential payments.

A core part of deepening access to Zelle has been through new reseller relationships:

• Zelle last year launched a program with Velera to expand Zelle access for Minority Deposit Institution (MDI) credit unions. This program aims to empower MDI credit unions with access to the same real-time payment solutions offered by larger institutions while upholding their mission of serving their communities.
  
  
• Zelle also announced a new partnership last year with Alacriti to embed Zelle into its Orbipay Payments Hub. This new relationship aims to help community banks and credit unions integrate Zelle through existing infrastructures.

"As the largest partner reseller of Zelle, representing roughly two-thirds of the financial institutions offering the solution, we value our collaboration with Early Warning Services in bringing Zelle to market," said Matt Wilcox, deputy head of financial solutions group and chief growth officer, Fiserv.  "Zelle has set the standard for real-time, frictionless payments—an experience consumers now expect across all digital transactions."

Community banks and credit unions are central to expanding access to Zelle, using their trusted relationships and local reach to deliver fast, reliable money movement. By meeting institutions where they are and integrating seamlessly into existing banking experiences, Zelle helps these organizations bring simple, secure payments to the American consumers and small businesses they serve.

About Zelle
Zelle® powers fast, reliable person-to-person digital payments, moving more than $1 trillion between millions of consumer and small business accounts at United States banks and credit unions. Available through a network of more than 2,300 financial institutions, Zelle® enables people to send and receive money directly – without cash, checks or third-party apps. Zelle® is owned and operated by Early Warning Services, LLC, which works with America's banks, credit unions and government agencies to drive prosperity, deliver bold innovation and improve how payments are made. Learn more at www.zelle.com.

About Fiserv
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a Fortune 500 company, moves more than money. As a global leader in payments and financial technology, the company helps clients achieve best-in-class results through a commitment to innovation and excellence in areas including account processing and digital banking solutions; card issuer processing and network services; payments; e-commerce; merchant acquiring and processing; and Clover^®, the world's smartest point-of-sale system and business management platform. Fiserv is a member of the S&P 500^® Index and one of TIME Magazine's Most Influential Companies™. Visit fiserv.com and follow on social media for more information and the latest company news.

¹ Based on limited available and self-reported 2024 and 2025 memo field data.

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SOURCE Zelle