Zelle shut down its standalone app, stranding users whose banks are not in Zelle network

Zelle pulled its standalone app from app stores on April 1 2025. Users at banks outside the 2200+ Zelle-partnered institutions lost the ability to send or receive money via Zelle entirely. Only 2% of Zelle transactions happened via the standalone app but those users had no bank-integrated alternative. They are now forced to use Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal which all take cuts or have slower transfer speeds. Users whose credit unions or community banks are not in the Zelle network are effectively cut off from free instant P2P transfers.