How To Send Money With Zelle® Safely

Zelle^® is a great way to send money to friends, family, and others you trust, right from the app. With Zelle^®, money is sent from your bank account to another person’s bank account, typically arriving in minutes.¹

We know getting money to friends and family quickly and safely is important, so we’ve provided some friendly reminders on how to “pay it safe” when sending money with Zelle^®.

1. Use Zelle^® to pay friends, family, and others you trust.

Fast and convenient, Zelle^® is a great way to pay people you trust. Money is sent directly from your bank account to your recipient’s bank account and can’t be canceled if the other person is already enrolled with Zelle^®. Because of this, you should only send money to people you personally know and trust.

2. Double-check your recipient’s info.

One of the key benefits of using Zelle^® is the ability to send money directly to your recipient’s bank account in minutes.¹ That said, it’s important you enter your recipient’s U.S. mobile number or email address correctly. Always double-check your recipient’s contact info before you hit “send.”

2. Beware of scams.

Because Zelle^® transfers cannot be canceled, scammers try to convince people to send money through this service. One example of a payment scam is buying event tickets at a price that seems too good to be true from a stranger and never receiving them. If the seller asks you to use Zelle^® to purchase the tickets, you should refuse unless the seller is a person you personally know. 

Also, keep in mind that no one from Arkansas Federal Credit Union will ask you to send them money with Zelle^® as a test or to send money to avoid a fraud event. 

3. Avoid using Zelle^® on public WiFi.

Using the free public Wi-Fi at your favorite neighborhood coffee shop may save you some gigabytes on your data plan, but it can come with risks. If you do choose to log onto a free Wi-Fi guest network, make sure you don’t log onto any secure sites, such as your mobile or online banking sites that feature Zelle^®.

4. Know when Zelle^® is a good payment option and when another payment method is better.

Zelle^® can be used to pay many important people in your life for so many different reasons. Use Zelle^® to pay your roommate back for takeout or split the cost of necessities with a neighbor. However, if you aren’t sure you will get what you paid for (for example, items bought from an online bidding or sales site), or you don’t know and trust the person you’re paying, we recommend you choose a different payment option.

5. Treat Zelle^® like cash.

Did your friend change phone numbers recently? It’s easy for people to change their phone number or email address. When in doubt, contact your friend to verify the email or U.S. mobile number they used to enroll with Zelle^® before you hit “Send.” Another good checkpoint for ensuring you’re paying the right person is to confirm the first name that is displayed for enrolled emails and U.S. mobile numbers. 

If a person has already enrolled a U.S. mobile number or email address with Zelle^®, you can’t cancel the transaction, so it’s important you get it right the first time.