Zelle Readies a Straight P2P Mobile App

One of the great risks of any mobile payments platform is that it’s functioning in a walled garden, and one that’s too small to accommodate any real growth. A mobile payments app, therefore, that can expand its operations beyond that walled garden into other platforms has something of a better chance to survive. That’s just what recent entry Zelle is looking to do, expanding its usefulness to most anyone with a debit card.

The recently-launched Zelle allows users to conduct transactions armed with nothing more than a mobile number or an email address, and doesn’t depend on membership in any one specific bank to carry out said operations. Zelle users will also be able to split payments, developments which put it in direct competition with other wide-reaching apps like Square Cash and Venmo.

Thanks to connections with an array of major banks, as well as Visa and Mastercard, most anyone with a debit card drawn on a US bank—even one not specifically supported by Zelle’s operations—will be able to work with Zelle. That’s a base potentially 86 million strong across all platforms, and one that could make Zelle a big deal.

With Zelle already pulling a reported 50,000 new members a day getting in on the action, this could allow Zelle to compete in a market that’s already pretty well packed with players. As we’ve said before, the only way to be a latecomer in a crowded market is to offer something no one else can or will. Zelle, with its massive potential user base and ease of use, could break some users away from established platforms and actually draw market share to itself. That’s about the only way a mobile payments system can survive any more; most everyone who wants it already has their system of choice in place, so to get market share to a newcomer, it will have to pull it away from established brands.

Only time will tell just how well Zelle works in the field, but it’s certainly got the makings of a system that could really make a mark. It’s got some new and unique features, and its ability to work most anywhere and with most any bank could be the all-in-one tool people were looking for.