Zelle, the peer-to-peer payment service from Early Warning Services LLC, is renewing its effort to bring more minority deposit institutions, be they banks or credit unions, into its program.

Announced Monday, this year’s effort again works with credit union service organization Velera to recruit financial institutions that primarily provide services to historically underserved communities and adds Jack Henry & Associates Inc. as another avenue. The program started in 2025 with Velera.

A Zelle spokesperson says its program is meant to help reduce barriers for these financial institutions to add Zelle as a service. Zelle says a survey it conducted of 250 banking executives finds that 99% are seeing increased pressure to move money faster, while only 6% say they can remain highly competitive without instant-payment options. They also realize consumers want instant payments, with nearly 98% saying the availability of instant payments influences how a consumer chooses a bank.

One prominent use case is sharing expenses, the spokesperson says. “As shared expenses become more common and the need to be paid quickly increases, Zelle is being used to split and settle larger costs fast between people who know and trust each other,” the spokesperson says.

In 2025, users sent more than $1.2 trillion through Zelle across 4.2 billion transactions, Zelle says. “That translates to an average of $3.4 billion moving through the network every day. People aren’t just using Zelle more often; they’re relying on it for different parts of their everyday financial lives,” the spokesperson notes.

As with most payment networks, ubiquity of access is vital to Zelle’s growth. That’s why it’s important that Zelle be available to as many financial institutions as possible. “Both Velera and Jack Henry serve as key technology and service providers to community banks and credit unions, including many minority deposit institutions. Through these partnerships, they streamline integration and make it easier for community financial institutions to offer Zelle through the trusted channels their customers already use,” the spokesperson says. Early Warning says more than 2,300 financial institutions offer Zelle, with 95% of them being community banks or credit unions.

Earlier in March, Thinkwise Federal Credit Union, in San Bernardino, Calif., became the first MDI credit union to offer Zelle through Velera, Zelle says. The National Bankers Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group, says there are 153 minority deposit institutions serving 26 million individuals.