Four Best Zelle Alternatives
Zelle, a digital payments platform that lets you send money directly to friends and family, has shut down its standalone app . But while the Zelle app is gone, you can probably still send and receive money with Zelle through your bank or credit union—Zelle is already integrated into more than 2,200 banking apps, and you can use this search tool to find out if your app is one of them.
Otherwise, you will have to send money using another tool. Here are four of the best Zelle alternatives for peer-to-peer payments.
Venmo
Venmo allows you to request money or pay other users and send up to $60,000 per week after you verify your identity in the app. You can transfer funds from your Venmo account to your bank account for free if you’re willing to wait 1-3 days, or instantly for a 1.75% fee. There are no fees for funds sent from your Venmo balance or linked bank account/debit card, and there is a 3% fee when sending money using your credit card.
Please note that you should update your default privacy settings in Venmo to ensure that your transactions and account information are not publicly viewable.
Venmo is available for iOS , Android , and the web .
PayPal
PayPal is a well-established digital payment service that is useful for sending and receiving money from friends and contacts, and for making online purchases. There are no fees for sending money through Friends & Family from a linked bank account or using your PayPal balance, and standard withdrawals are also free (like Venmo, there is a 1.75% fee for instant transfers).
Fees apply for international transactions and currency conversions, as well as personal transactions using credit cards.
PayPal is available for iOS , Android and the web .
Cash application
Cash App is a peer-to-peer platform similar to Venmo. You can send money from a linked bank account or debit card to other Cash App users—if the recipient’s phone number or email address isn’t associated with an account, they’ll be prompted to create one to receive funds—for free. Standard transfers are also free, but instant transfers from Cash App to your bank incur a fee of 0.5-1.75%.
Cash App can also be used to send and receive Bitcoins.
It is available for iOS , Android and the web .
Apple Cash
Apple Cash is a built-in payment feature for sending money to other iPhone users through Messages, Wallet, or Tap to Cash. Apple Cash is a digital card stored in your Apple Wallet, and you can transfer funds to a linked bank account (standard time and free) or to a debit card (instantly for a 1.5% fee). Apple Cash allows you to send or receive a maximum of $10,000 per message with the same limit over a 7-day period. If you have an iPhone, you can pay someone with Apple Cash from other apps, including Messages.
Apple Cash is integrated into iOS and is available on the web .
How to Protect Your Privacy with Digital Payments
The apps we’ve listed here have various privacy and security protections, such as encryption and secure authentication, but peer-to-peer payment platforms are still a target for scammers . Make sure you only send funds to trusted contacts, and turn on settings to keep your money safe, such as identity verification and limiting who can see your account and request funds from you.