Hundreds of small banks and credit unions joined the Zelle peer-to-peer payment network last year, parent company Early Warning Services said Tuesday, expanding the total number of financial institutions using the service by about 15%.
Most of the 337 banks and credit unions that signed on to join Zelle or went live on the network in 2025 have less than $10 billion in assets, the payments company said. The service had 2,200 financial institutions at the end of 2024, a spokesperson said in an email. That means there were about 2,537 banks and credit unions connected to the peer-to-peer payment system as of the end of last year.
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company intentionally targeted financial institutions in rural areas and those that cater to underserved communities through a pair of partnerships, a spokesperson said.
One of those partnerships was with Velera — a St. Petersburg, Florida-based credit union services company — that focused on financial institutions that service minority customers, the release said.
EWS also partnered with Bridgewater, New Jersey-based payments infrastructure firm Alacriti to embed Zelle into the firm's services, according to the release.
"This new relationship aims to help community banks and credit unions integrate Zelle through existing infrastructure," the release said of the Alacriti partnership.
EWS worked with those companies specifically to expand its reach among smaller banks, Zelle General Manager Denise Leonhard said in the release.
"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," she said.
Early Warning Services boasted in the press release that around 80% of accounts at U.S. banks and credit unions are now connected to Zelle. Nonetheless, its 2,537 total as of the end of last year still covers only about a quarter of the nation’s 8,710 federally insured financial institutions.
Many of the nation’s largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, PNC Bank and Capital One, have already joined Zelle, making smaller community banks one of the few avenues for the network's growth.
Industry consultants expressed skepticism last year that small banks would want to work with Zelle, citing the relatively high rates charged by the network. However, they conceded that joining Zelle created the potential for banks to attract new customers.
