About Zelle Transfer

Zelle was formerly known as clearXchange. It was jointly developed by major U.S. banks such as Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo, and allows users to transfer money between banks using just a mobile phone number or email address. As more and more banks joined the network, the service was eventually renamed Zelle.

Currently, nearly 1000 banks have integrated with Zelle. If you bank with one of them, you can initiate a transfer directly from that bank’s online banking site or app by entering the recipient’s mobile number or email address, without needing things like a routing number or account number. The recipient can then receive the money through their own bank’s online banking site or app at another bank. In addition, Zelle payments are generally delivered in near real time, and the recipient will usually get an email or text notification once the money arrives, which makes the service very convenient.

Common banks that support Zelle include: Chase (Quick Pay with Zelle), Discover, BofA, Citi, Wells Fargo, US Bank, and Capital One. The full list of 1000+ participating banks is below:

Key Features

  • Transfer speed: Instant / near real-time delivery
  • Maximum amount: No clearly stated universal limit; depends on the bank
  • Requirements: You need to enroll in Zelle and know the recipient’s linked mobile number or email address
  • Fees: None; neither the sender nor the recipient pays a fee
  • Transfer limits: Larger transfers may be reviewed for 1-3 business days; daily and monthly limits vary by bank

Zelle is primarily used for person-to-person transfers, so each bank has its own daily and monthly Zelle limits. However, banks often do not clearly display these limits in the Zelle interface. Some bank limits are shown in the table below (source). I have personally tested Chase and US Bank, and they do seem to match this table. (The Chase transfer screen shows a limit of $5,000, but it does not seem like that full amount can actually be sent.) If anyone has limit data points for other banks, feel free to add them in the comments.

Bank Daily Limit Monthly Limit
Ally Bank $5,000 $10,000
Bank of America $2,500 $20,000
Chase Personal Checking $2,000 $16,000
Chase Business Checking or Chase Private Client $5,000 $40,000
Citibank Account, Basic Account and Access Account $2,000 $10,000
Citibank Citi Priority, Citigold and Citi Private Bank $5,000 $15,000
Citizens Bank $1,000 $5,000
PNC Bank $1,000 $5,000
US Bank $2,500 $10,000
Wells Fargo $2,500 $20,000

How to Set Up Zelle to Receive Money

If you want to receive a transfer that someone sends you through Zelle, the first step is to register your own Zelle receiving information. If you want to receive money through a particular bank, just log in to that bank’s online banking portal and set it up there. The money will be deposited directly into the corresponding checking account. Here, we will use Chase as a simple example: go to Pay and Transfer, select Zelle, then switch to the Setting screen to configure your Zelle receiving information. You can add either a mobile phone number or an email address. Once set up, anyone can send money to your checking account by entering either one.

One very important thing to note is that the same Zelle email address or phone number cannot be used at multiple banks at the same time. For example, if you set [email protected] as your Zelle email at Chase, and then later use that same email for Zelle at BofA, the previous Chase linkage will automatically become invalid. This is understandable, since otherwise it would be unclear which account should receive the transfer. In the screenshot below, the red text shows that one of my email addresses originally linked with Chase was later linked to BofA’s Zelle, so Chase asked me to re-verify whether that email could still be used.

How to Use Zelle to Send Money

Again using Chase as an example, first find the Zelle screen under Pay&Transfer.

First, add the recipient. Under Pay, select the My Zelle recipients tab, then click add new recipient.

The required fields are the recipient’s name plus either a mobile number or an email address. Be sure to confirm with the recipient that the phone number or email is linked to the correct checking account. If you send it to the wrong linked destination, it could be a real headache.

Once the recipient is added, you can send the transfer by choosing the person under Zelle Recipients.

When sending money, just pay attention to the transfer limit. Personally, I would not recommend using Zelle for multiple transfers over $2,000. Larger amounts are more likely to be reviewed, which means the transfer may no longer arrive in real time. In that case, sending someone a check or wire may be more convenient.

After the transfer is sent, the recipient will receive an email right away.

Checking the account shows that it is already processing, though those funds may not yet be available to use immediately. Wait 1-2 biz day and they should become available.

Fees

There is no fee to send or receive money with Zelle. It is still unclear whether there would be any fee if you cancel a Zelle payment for personal reasons.

Canceling a Zelle Payment

Sometimes it is very troublesome if a Zelle payment is sent by mistake or if you want to change the amount. According to Zelle’s official explanation, you can only cancel a payment after sending it if the recipient does not yet have a Zelle account enrolled—for example, if the email address or phone number you used has not been linked through a bank that supports Zelle. In all other cases, the money goes directly into the recipient’s bank account and cannot be canceled.

You can only cancel a payment if the recipient hasn’t yet enrolled with Zelle®. You can go to your activity page within the Zelle® experience, either within your mobile banking app or the Zelle® app, choose the payment you want to cancel, and then select “Cancel This Payment.”

If your recipient has already enrolled with Zelle®, the money is sent directly to your recipient’s bank account and cannot be canceled.


According to a DP shared by a group member, if you sent a payment by mistake and want to cancel it, the bank may contact the recipient to understand what happened. Of course, if you were scammed before the money was recovered, my suggestion is to contact the bank immediately and see whether they can stop payment.

Summary

Zelle is a very convenient transfer method.

  • Pros: Can be done online, no fees to send or receive, near real-time delivery, and only requires an email address or mobile number
  • Cons: Not suitable for especially large transfers, transfers may be reviewed, the recipient also needs a bank account that supports Zelle, and canceling a payment can be difficult

For introductions to other money transfer methods, see: