The news: Zelle reported 20% growth YoY in total dollars sent by US consumers and small businesses, totaling over $1.2 trillion in payments, per a press release.

• Total number of transactions increased 12% YoY to 4.2 billion.
• Small-business transactions spiked 23.5% YoY to a total of 647.6 million.
• Small-business payments volume rose 26% YoY to $347 billion.

Why this matters: Zelle’s YoY growth demonstrates its formidable position within the P2P market—and a warning for competitors like Venmo and Cash App. 

Zelle users have the ease of sending money straight from their bank accounts to recipients with zero fees. PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App have to persuade consumers to create accounts, download apps, sync bank accounts or cards with their platforms, and potentially pay fees to transfer money with the same speed as Zelle—a huge setback. 

By comparison, PayPal and Venmo’s P2P TPV in Q4 2025 increased 7% YoY, while Venmo’s TPV grew 13% YoY. PayPal had to lean on its marketing budget to power its White Lotus-star backed Venmo Everything campaign to achieve these results—meaning deeper marketing investments for revenue payoffs.

Zelle, meanwhile, will continue to be centrally located for consumers with minimal advertising. We forecast that Zelle will hit $999.24 billion this year in P2P transaction value.

Implications for P2P payment providers: To encourage enrollment, P2P providers need to offer incentives and competitive fee terms to capture customers. 

For app-based payments, UX design and onboarding need to be as trustworthy as a banking product and simple enough to provoke repeat use. Targeting younger consumers in the beginning of their financial journey may help to lock in early consumer behaviors for lifelong loyalty.