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Banks like Wells Fargo and JP Morgan, among others, back the company behind Zelle.
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Venezuelans use Zelle mainly for payments for services or money transfers.
The Zelle team, a person-to-person (P2P) payments platform between bank accounts, announced that it plans to integrate transfers with stablecoins to and from the United States.
In its system, Zelle serves consumers, small businesses and banks of all sizes, and has gained popularity in Venezuela in recent years.
The statement, issued on October 24 by Early Warning Services (EWS), the company responsible for Zelle’s operations, indicates that the objective of incorporating stablecoins is “deliver faster and more reliable cross-border money movements”.
Zelle currently runs a payments network worth around $1 billion, according to the announcement.
Cameron Fowler, CEO of EWS, said that the purpose of the proposal is to replicate the speed and confidence that Zelle offers in the US to international transfers, taking advantage of lessons from the market and the support of the banks that own EWS (Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, among others).
The statement explains that Zelle has established itself in the United States as one of the main avenues for Immediate transfers between bank accountswithout the need for additional intermediaries.
Fowler said Zelle «transformed the way Americans send money domestically» and that the new approach seeks to bring that same level of speed, convenience and reliability to transfers between the United States and the rest of the world.
In addition, EWS indicates that the initiative will be available for all institutions that are part of the Zelle network and that aims to maintain the same conditions for all participants, reinforcing the confidence of consumers and financial institutions.
Zelle is a popular platform in Venezuela
Beyond the United States, Zelle has gained significant popularity in Venezuela as a means to access digital dollars, allowing citizens to circumvent local financial restrictions.
According to a 2020 Bloomberg report, in that South American country the use of Zelle has become common due to the economic crisis marked by the hyperinflation and the devaluation of the bolivar.
According to that article, Venezuelans use Zelle to a variety of everyday transactionsfrom paying for imported empanadas and cheeses to sushi dinners and medical services in private clinics. Shops, fruit stands and supermarkets display “We accept Zelle” signs.
This use «off-label» (without official authorization from the app’s creators) reflects the dependence on remittances and daily purchases, driven by the Venezuelan diaspora with accounts in the US, although it faces risks due to banking restrictions.
Thus, the platform became a useful tool for moving money between family members and acquaintances inside and outside the country.
Five years after the Bloomberg report, on social networks such as X and Reddit, Venezuelan users continue discussing the operation of Zelle and the conditions of use, which reflect the interest and validity of this application as a payment mechanism.
Users in Venezuela could benefit from the flow of stablecoins in Zelle
Zelle’s integration with stablecoins could have significant implications for Venezuelans.
This initiative promises faster, more accessible and cheaper cross-border payments using stable digital currencies pegged to the dollar, which would facilitate remittances from the US and reduce the costs associated with current transfers.
The arrival of stablecoins to Zelle could improve efficiency and reduce dependence on informal methods, although Its success will depend on implementation and access to bank accounts in the US.