The popular payment app has disappeared

Goodbye, Zelle App. Here's How to Keep Sending Money Digitally But there are a lot of other ways to send money instantly for free

The popular payment app has disappeared

If you like to use Zelle to send money to others, you need to find a new solution. On April 1, the digital payment app shut down.

That doesn't mean Zelle itself has gone away. It's only discontinued its standalone app. You can still use Zelle through your bank's mobile app or website if your bank belongs to the Zelle network. You also have plenty of other options for sending money electronically.

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Here's what you need to know about this change and your options moving forward.

Why the Zelle app is shutting down

When Zelle launched in 2017, only about 60 US financial institutions offered the service by the end of that year. Today, that number exceeds 2,200. As a result, less than 2% of Zelle transactions occur through the standalone app. Zelle has been phasing out the ability to make transactions on its mobile app since October 2024.

"Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution's mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur," Zelle said in an October 2024 press release.

In December, Zelle was in the spotlight when the Consumer Financial Protected Bureau sued the company and three of the largest US banks for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud on the peer-to-peer payment network. The lawsuit has since been dropped.

Other ways to send money digitally

You can still use Zelle through your bank's app or website if it belongs to the Zelle network. You can also switch to another digital payment app, such as:

Apple Wallet
Cash App
PayPal
Venmo

Take some basic precautions when using Zelle or any other digital payment service. These apps are a frequent target for scammers, and Chase Bank has started blocking some Zelle payments it believes could be fraudulent. Only send money to people you know and trust, and watch for red flags like an urgent message claiming to be from your bank or an online ad for concert tickets that seem impossibly cheap.