Zelle^® FAQs

Zelle is a fast, secure and easy way to send money directly between almost any bank accounts in the U.S., typically within minutes¹. With just an email address or U.S. mobile phone number, you can send money to people you trust, regardless of where they bank ².

You can send money to friends, family and others you trust². Since money is sent directly from your bank account to another person’s bank account within minutes¹, it’s important to send money only to people you trust, and always ensure you’ve used the correct email address or U.S. mobile number.

You can send, request and receive money with Zelle.

To get started, log into your online banking or mobile app and select “Send Money with Zelle^®”. Enter your email address or U.S. mobile phone number, receive a one-time verification code, enter it, accept terms and conditions and you’re ready to start sending and receiving with Zelle.

To send money: select a contact in your mobile device or add a U.S. mobile number or trusted recipient’s email address, enter the dollar amount to send and an optional note, review, then click “Send.” In most cases, the money is available to your recipient in minutes¹.

To request money: choose “Request,” select the individual(s) from whom you’d like to request money, enter the dollar amount, include an optional note, review and hit “Request”³.

To receive money: share your U.S. mobile phone number or email address (that’s enrolled in Zelle) and ask them to send you money with Zelle.

If you’ve already enrolled with Zelle, the money will transfer directly into your bank account, typically within minutes¹.

If you haven’t yet enrolled with Zelle, follow these steps:

1. Click on the link in the payment notification you received via text message or email.
2. Select your financial institution.
3. Follow the instructions to enroll and receive your payment. (Pay attention to the U.S. mobile number or email address where you received the payment notification – you should enroll with Zelle using that U.S. mobile number or email address to ensure you receive your money.)

Zelle is a great way to send money to family, friends and people you are familiar with such as your pet sitter, babysitter or neighbor².

Since the funds are sent in minutes, make sure it’s someone you trust. Neither City Credit Union nor Zelle offers a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle – for example, if you do not receive the item you paid for or the item is not as described or as you expected.

It’s easy – Zelle already is available within your mobile banking app and online banking! Login to either of these and follow a few simple steps to enroll.

You can find a full list of participating banks and credit unions live with Zelle here.

The list of participating financial institutions is always growing, so f you’re sending funds to someone whose financial institution isn’t on the list, tell the recipient to download the Zelle app for Android or iOS.

To enroll with the Zelle app, your recipient will enter their contact information, U.S. mobile phone number, email address and a Visa® or Mastercard® debit card with a U.S.-based account (does not include U.S. territories). Zelle does not accept debit cards associated with international deposit accounts or any credit cards.

When you enroll with Zelle through online banking or mobile app, your name, the name of your financial institution and the U.S. mobile number or email address you used enrolled is shared with Zelle (no sensitive account details are shared).

When someone sends money to your enrolled U.S. mobile number or email address, Zelle notifies your financial institution of the incoming payment. Your financial institution then directs the payment into your bank account. All account details are kept secure.

To use Zelle, the sender’s and recipient’s bank accounts must be based in the U.S.

You can cancel a payment only if the person you sent money to hasn’t yet enrolled with Zelle. To check if the payment is still pending, go to your activity page, choose the payment you want to cancel and then select “Cancel This Payment.”

If the recipient has already enrolled with Zelle, the money is sent directly to their bank account and cannot be canceled. This is why it’s important to send money only to people you trust and always ensure you use the correct U.S. mobile number or email address when sending money.

If you sent money to the wrong person, we recommend contacting the recipient and requesting the money back. If you can’t get your money back, please contact your financial institution’s customer service.

Money sent with Zelle typically is available to an enrolled recipient within minutes¹.

If you send money to someone who isn’t enrolled, they’ll receive a notification prompting them to enroll. After enrollment, the money will move directly to your recipient’s account, typically within minutes¹.

If your payment is pending, we recommend confirming the person you sent money to has enrolled with Zelle and that you entered the correct U.S. mobile phone number or email address.

If you’re waiting to receive money, check if you’ve received a payment notification via text message or email. If you haven’t, we recommend you follow up with the sender to confirm they entered the correct U.S. mobile phone number or email address.

Yes. They will receive a notification via text message or email.

Keeping your money and information secure is a top priority. When you use Zelle within our mobile app or online banking, your information is protected with the same technology we use to keep your bank account information safe.

If you don’t know the person or aren’t sure you will get what you paid for (e.g., items bought from an online bidding or sales site), you should not use Zelle for these types of transactions.

These transactions are potentially high risk (just like sending cash to a person you don’t know is high risk). Neither City Credit Union nor Zelle offers a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle – for example, if you do not receive the item you paid for or the item is not as described or as you expected.

Your U.S. mobile phone number or email address may already be enrolled with Zelle at another bank or credit union. A mobile number or email address can be linked to only one Zelle account.

If you use Zelle with another financial institution, deregister that account. Once that Zelle service is deactivated, you should be able to enroll your City CU account in Zelle and start sending and receiving money with Zelle via City CU’s mobile app or online banking.