The bank hopes to thwart social media scams by blocking some Zelle payments

Chase Customers: Here's What You Should Know About Its New Zelle Policy Here's how you can send money instead

The bank hopes to thwart social media scams by blocking some Zelle payments

Chase customers who use Zelle will soon have a new policy to keep in mind. Beginning March 23, 2025, JPMorgan Chase may block certain Zelle payments if it thinks they originated from social media. It's the bank's attempt to protect customers from scams that have resulted in massive losses to date.

Fortunately, Chase offers plenty of other ways to send and receive money digitally. Here's what you need to know.

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Why Chase will be blocking Zelle social media charges

Zelle and other digital payment apps, such as Venmo and Cash App, make it easy for scammers to get your money, and many scammers target people on social media. According to Chase, nearly 50% of fraud reports it received from June 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, came from social media.

A December 2024 lawsuit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged that customers at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo lost more than $870 million through Zelle payments since the app launched in 2017. While the CFPB recently dropped the suit, it still raised alarms that customers are at risk using the digital payment app. And because Zelle offers no purchase protection, once you've sent your money on the app, you're unlikely to get it back.

With its new policy, Chase hopes to stop fraud before it happens. Its updated Zelle Service Agreement will allow it to decline or block payments it believes originated on social media. The bank may also delay or hold payments so it can request information from you to authenticate the transaction, such as verifying your identity, the sender or recipient's identity and payment details.

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Other ways Chase customers can send money safely

If you want to send or receive money through your Chase account, there are plenty of secure ways to do so. Chase partners with several other digital payment services, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Paze.

You should never send money through a payment app to someone you don't know and trust. It also helps to know the signs of a scam so you can avoid falling into fraudsters' traps.