Personal Finance: How I use Zelle

One more essay. 

I don't give financial advice to anyone, but I will briefly introduce Zelle and how I use it. 

Zelle is a fast and easy way to send or receive small sums of money. It is a peer-to-peer network that bypasses conventional ways for money transfer and does not require a bank account number. It only requires an email or cell phone number. The email or cell phone identifies the unique financial institution that sends or receives the money and the financial institution involved itself is hidden. 

Generally, Zelle is intended for sending money to family, friends and others whom you trust. There is no reversing a transfer or really disputing it. Transfers generally are very fast. 

Zelle is offered by over 2,000 financial institutions in the United States.

  • Major Banks and Credit Unions
    • Many large banks, such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo, provide Zelle services. All my banks offer it too. 
    • Numerous credit unions also participate in the Zelle network.
  • Availability
    • Users can access Zelle through their bank's mobile app or website if their financial institution supports it.
    • Some banks may require users to enroll in Zelle to use the service.
  • Limitations
    • Not all financial institutions offer Zelle, so it's essential to check with your specific institution for availability.
    • Zelle is primarily designed for domestic transfers and may not support international transactions.
I use Zelle only for small money transfers between me and individual friends and relatives in the US. Also an individual buyer of your merchandise potentially may pay using Zelle (small sums). I would discourage this, but if you must, I would suggest getting a QR code from Zelle from your financial institution receiving the money and show that to the buyer to pay. The buyer would scan the QR Code and pay. 

Popular payment systems to businesses are Google Pay, Apple Pay and PayPal. All hide the underlying financial institution. 

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