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The Zelle person-to-person payment service continued to gain traction in the third quarter. Zelle Network reported Tuesday that it processed $32 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30 on 116 million transactions.
The latest figures represent a year-over-year growth rate of 67% in payment value and 83% in transactions. From the second quarter, volume grew 13% and transactions 16%. Over the past 12 months, bank-controlled Zelle says it has processed $106 billion on 375 million transactions.
Zelle archival Venmo, which is owned by PayPal Holdings Inc., is growing somewhat faster but on a smaller base. Venmo generated $16.7 billion in volume in the third quarter, up 18% from the second quarter and 78% from a year ago, PayPal reported Oct. 18. The current run rate is near $70 billion in annual volume, chief executive Dan Schulman said.
Zelle, which launched last year, says it now has more than 75 million tokens—the mobile-phone number or email address of enrolled bank customers—that facilitate its transactions. Enrollment increased 10% from the second quarter. Zelle’s parent company, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Early Warning Services LLC, is controlled by a number of the nation’s largest banks.
In addition to making Zelle available to customers of the owner banks, the service also is available to other banks and credit unions through payment processors Fiserv Inc., Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS), Jack Henry & Associates Inc., and the credit-union processor Co-Op Financial Services. Zelle booked more than 40 financial institutions in the third quarter through the processors, Early Warning chief executive Paul Finch said.
“As we strive for ubiquity, we are working closely with banks and credit unions of all sizes in offering a fast and consistent payments experience,” Finch said in a news release. “Zelle is one of the fastest-growing consumer financial brands in history and we are proud of our momentum, especially this quarter.”
