America's banks are stepping up their assault on Venmo by rebranding their clearXchange person-to-person payments service to the more consumer-friendly Zelle.
Run by Early Warning for its owners - Bank of America, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Capital One and US Bank - clearXchange lets users send funds directly from their bank accounts to the recipients' using only an email address or mobile phone number.
The service has been running for several years, but promoted as a corporate brand. Now, having recently struck deals with Visa and MasterCard that paves the way for debit card-based transactions on the platform, increasing its availability, Early Warning is preparing to push its way into the public's consciousness.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the 'Zelle brand is set to be unveiled in October. The name may be linked to the gazelle, the fleet-footed antelope, although, as the Journal notes, according to Urban Dictionary, zelle is defined as "best girl ever".