Unpopular opinion: Zelle is actually less secure than a paper check

Everyone keeps talking about how fast Zelle is. But I saw a fraud case last month at my credit union in Phoenix where someone lost $1,200 and couldn't get it back. With a paper check at least you have 90 days to catch a forgery. Why are we pushing instant payments when the consumer protections are basically zero?

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2 Comments

tyler1763mo ago

Tell your credit union's fraud department you want a stop payment form ready to go before you ever send a Zelle.

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martinez.anna3mo ago

@tyler176 That's actually smart to have it ready beforehand. Most people don't realize you gotta act fast with Zelle since it's basically cash once it sends. The stop payment form has to be really specific about the date and amount too, which is hard when you're panicking. I'd add that sometimes the fraud department will flag duplicates if you send the same amount twice in a row, so that form might help catch things before they process.

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