Zelle, the peer-to-peer payment service owned by seven large banks, was unavailable for many users on Friday due to a technical problem.
“This situation involves an independent third-party that provides services to particular financial institutions,” Zelle’s parent, Early Warning Services, said in an emailed statement. “We are working diligently with our partners to resolve this matter as soon as we can.”
Zelle users may see their transactions marked as “payment pending” until the issue is resolved, EWS said. Zelle says its service connects about 2,200 banks and credit unions.
The EWS statement did not say which independent third party it is working with, but Milwaukee-based payment processor Fiserv is one of Zelle’s largest partners.
Fiserv said in an emailed statement that it had experienced “an internal issue” earlier Friday that disrupted service temporarily. “The issue has since been resolved, and we are now working to process the backlog,” Fiserv said. The company said it is “taking steps to prevent similar occurrences in the future.”
In February, EWS said Zelle had 151 million users, including individuals and small businesses. About $1 trillion was sent over the payment network in 2024, an annual record for Zelle and a 27% increase from 2023, according to a company news release.
Zelle shuttered its stand-alone app on April 1, saying that most users had migrated to their bank’s app to access the service.
Scottsdale, Arizona-based EWS is owned by seven U.S. banks, including Capital One Financial, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. EWS also operates the Paze digital wallet.
