As it faces up to a lawsuit from New York's attorney general for allegedly failing to protect users from "massive amounts of fraud," bank-backed P2P payments service Zelle has gone on the offensive, insisting that just 0.02% of all transactions result in a report of fraud or scam.
Launched in 2017, Zelle is hugely popular, with over 150 million enrolled users who sent more than two billion payments worth nearly $600 billion in the first half of 2025.
However, it has also faced criticism over fraud on the platform. Late last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a suit against operator Early Warning, as well as owner-banks JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, for allowing fraud to "fester" on Zelle.
In March the CFPB pulled the suit amid a wider pullback at the agency under new leadership installed by Donald Trump, but the respite was short lived, with New York AG Letitia James filing her own suit against Early Warning in August.
James claims that Early Warning designed Zelle without critical safety features, allowing scammers to target users and steal over $1 billion between 2017 and 2023.
Early Warning compares the 0.02% of all Zelle transactions resulting in a report of fraud or scam with the three per cent of Americans that get food poisoning and the 0.07% who get injured by a toilet.
Early Warning says it uses billions of ‘Trust Signals’ that allow it to identify patterns, pinpoint criminals and block scammers from using Zelle and insists that it has enforced strong anti-fraud rules and deployed cutting-edge protection technology since launch in 2017.
“Early Warning is the most powerful financial crime-fighting company you’ve never heard of,” says Ben Chance, general manager, Early Warning identity and payments risk business.
Meanwhile, the service continues to grow, with the total dollar amount sent in H1 up 23% from $481 billion the previous year. The total number of payments to small businesses jumped up by 31% to 180 million, making it the fastest growing use of Zelle.
Denise Leonhard, GM, Zelle, says: “With continued surging growth, it’s clear Zelle is where the US economy flows. Whether it’s rent, childcare or paying a small business, Zelle is an essential and foundational part of everyday life for millions of Americans.
"Zelle delivers when the moment demands speed and reliability at scale. In a time when people need their money to move fast and work hard, Zelle is showing up."