People are increasingly falling victim to fraud on the payment service Zelle, lured by scammers impersonating bank officials via text message or phone call — and in response to the prevalence of fraud, some banks are responding with a plan to reimburse scammed customers.
Zelle allows users to send and receive money instantly and without a fee. But unlike other mobile payment services like Venmo and Cash App, the platform is partially owned by banks.
Seven big banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, partnered to form fintech company Early Warning Services to run Zelle. The app was created in 2017 to compete with other electronic-payment services.
