Using Zelle in place of ACH...Game Changer

[CBartowski]

I recently moved the majority of my money and banking to a smaller regional bank from a large national bank for better interest rates and brick and mortor locations if I needed to deposit cash. In doing so I've got myself into a paragdim of direct deposit into one bank (as all my other accounts are linked to it)  and my daily spending and bill pay in another. 

Zelle is a P2P payment application that most banks have functionality with through their own apps.

ACH transfers from Bank 1 to Bank 2 took DAYS and was slightly frustrating. I decided to try Zelle and see if I could send money to myself. All you need is to attach a phone number or an email to your bank account with Zelle and you're golden. Seeing as I happen to have a phone number AND an email, like the typical millenial, I experimented assigning my email to bank 1 and phone to bank 2 and it worked. INSTANT FREE TRANSFERS between accounts. I am trying to use it in place of Venmo as well to split checks with friends, etc as Zelle is instant and Venmo can also take a few days. 

I may sound like an impatient millenial here, but it has simplified things. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info! I just tried it out and it worked like a charm! Total game changer!

[UncleB]

Yep, Zelle works quite well, and not just for millennials... there's more than a handful of us more 'seasoned' folks around who use it as well. 

I also use the email/phone number trick to move money around; in my case, with Wells Fargo and USAA.  USAA gives me instant credit for incoming ACH transfers, but sending money to WF takes a day or two with ACH, but Zelle is instant.

Also, for those with more than two accounts at Zelle participating banks/CUs, be sure to use a different email/phone for any account after the first two.  Work email accounts or Gmail usually work OK.

[SunriseEarth]

Glad to hear it works!   NFCU just added Zelle to their app, but I haven't used it yet to send or receive money.   I usually use PayPal or Venmo.  I'll send money via ACH to my SO for rent, as he doesn't use any of the payment apps (my SO is solidly Gen X).

As for generational use, I'm considered "Xennial".   It's a good label for those of us at the tail end of Gen X who identify in many ways with trends often seen among Millennials.  

[CBartowski]

@kobeisthegoat: Glad it worked!

Yea I've seen a bunch of banks getting on the Zelle bandwagon good luck to all!

[UncleB]

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@CBartowski wrote:

@Anonymous: Glad it worked!

Yea I've seen a bunch of banks getting on the Zelle bandwagon good luck to all!

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Yep, it does seem to really be taking off. 

Usually competition is a good thing, but this is one of the (very) few times that a monopoly done right would be very nice for everyone involved, since the service is both fast (usually instant) and free.

[DaveInAZ]

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@UncleB wrote:

Yep, Zelle works quite well, and not just for millennials... there's more than a handful of us more 'seasoned' folks around who use it as well. 

I also use the email/phone number trick to move money around; in my case, with Wells Fargo and USAA.  USAA gives me instant credit for incoming ACH transfers, but sending money to WF takes a day or two with ACH, but Zelle is instant.

Also, for those with more than two accounts at Zelle participating banks/CUs, be sure to use a different email/phone for any account after the first two.  Work email accounts or Gmail usually work OK.

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While I agree ACH is way too slow I'm not sold on Zelle and having several banking account requiring multiple email/mobile numbers to cumbersome and confusing. I use Memory Bank checking as my primary payment account as it pays 1.6% interest, so I sweep money into it from bank/CU accounts paying little or no interest, but where I have diect deposits going for good reasons. For me using Google Pay is much simpler - you just need 2 Gmail accounts. I have my primary Gmail account in my primary browser, Firefox, and the 2nd Gmail account in Chrome. I set the debit card of the account I want to take money from as the default payment card in Google Pay1 account, and the debit card of the account I want to money to go to as the default in Google Pay2 account, and send the money from 1 to 2, funds are credited in a minute or 2. Yesterday I swept $200 from DCU, $200 from Chase, and $133 from my PayPal balance all to Memory bank, all credited in minutes, earning interest over the long weekend. And no fees using Google Pay for transfers.

[Anonymous]

I recently moved all of my accounts to NFCU. I always used Zelle to transfer funds from my personal bank account to our house checking account at another bank. The one thing NFCU was missing for me was a quick way to do that. With the recent addition of Zelle to NFCU software has made my life infinitely easier. Works smoothly without a hitch so far.

[UncleB]

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@DaveInAZ wrote:

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@UncleB wrote:

Yep, Zelle works quite well, and not just for millennials... there's more than a handful of us more 'seasoned' folks around who use it as well. 

I also use the email/phone number trick to move money around; in my case, with Wells Fargo and USAA.  USAA gives me instant credit for incoming ACH transfers, but sending money to WF takes a day or two with ACH, but Zelle is instant.

Also, for those with more than two accounts at Zelle participating banks/CUs, be sure to use a different email/phone for any account after the first two.  Work email accounts or Gmail usually work OK.

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While I agree ACH is way too slow I'm not sold on Zelle and having several banking account requiring multiple email/mobile numbers to cumbersome and confusing. I use Memory Bank checking as my primary payment account as it pays 1.6% interest, so I sweep money into it from bank/CU accounts paying little or no interest, but where I have diect deposits going for good reasons. For me using Google Pay is much simpler - you just need 2 Gmail accounts. I have my primary Gmail account in my primary browser, Firefox, and the 2nd Gmail account in Chrome. I set the debit card of the account I want to take money from as the default payment card in Google Pay1 account, and the debit card of the account I want to money to go to as the default in Google Pay2 account, and send the money from 1 to 2, funds are credited in a minute or 2. Yesterday I swept $200 from DCU, $200 from Chase, and $133 from my PayPal balance all to Memory bank, all credited in minutes, earning interest over the long weekend. And no fees using Google Pay for transfers.

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To me using Google Pay seems even more confusing!    With Zelle you don't have to worry about different browsers, etc... as long as each bank/CU has a different email (or phone) you're good.  Both Google Pay and Zelle seem to have this in common.

That's why it's good to have options... we can each use what works best for us.  As long as the solution works that's all that matters.

[DaveInAZ]

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@UncleB wrote:

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To me using Google Pay seems even more confusing!    With Zelle you don't have to worry about different browsers, etc... as long as each bank/CU has a different email (or phone) you're good.  Both Google Pay and Zelle seem to have this in common.

That's why it's good to have options... we can each use what works best for us.  As long as the solution works that's all that matters.

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Well,  I thought I'd give Zelle a try. I downloaded the Android app, I don't have any accounts at banks that support Zelle so it told me "no problem, enter a debit card". I tried 3 different debit cards from 2 credit unions and Memory Bank and each time it said "we have issues, contact Zelle". No thanks.

It is good to have options, I'll stick with Google Pay - a little work to setup, but then you just switch default debit cards for the account syour want.