Zelle® FAQs

Zelle is a fast, safe, and easy way to send money directly between almost any U.S. bank account, typically in minutes.¹ With just an email address or U.S. mobile phone number, you can send money to people you trust, regardless of where they bank.²

Send money to friends, family, and anyone else you trust.² Since you’re moving money directly from your bank account to someone else’s, be extra sure you’re sending it to someone you trust and you’re using the correct email address or U.S. mobile number.

You can send, request, or receive money with Zelle. To get started, log into your online banking or mobile banking app and select “Send Money with Zelle.” Enter your email address or U.S. mobile phone number and one-time verification code, accept terms and conditions, and you’re ready to go.

Send money: Select someone from your contact list (or add a trusted email address or U.S. mobile phone number), add the amount and an optional note, review your message, then hit “Send.” In most cases, the recipient will receive the money in minutes.¹

Request money: Choose “Request,” select the individual(s) from whom you’d like to request money, enter the amount and an optional note, review your message and hit “Request.”

Receive money: Just share your enrolled email address or U.S. mobile phone number with a friend and ask them to send you money with Zelle.

If you’ve already signed up, you don’t need to do anything else. The money will move directly into your bank account, typically within minutes.1 If you haven’t yet enrolled, follow these steps:

1. Click on the link provided in the payment notification you received via email or text message.
2. Select your financial institution.
3. Follow the instructions provided to enroll and receive your payment. Pay attention to the email address or U.S. mobile number where you received the payment notification. You should enroll with Zelle using that email address or mobile number to ensure you receive your money.

Zelle is a great way to send money to family, friends, and people you know and trust, like your best friend, babysitter, or neighbor.² Since you’re sending money directly from your bank account to another person’s account, you should only use Zelle to send money to people you trust. Zelle does not offer a protection program for authorized payments, such as an item you paid for but don’t receive or that doesn’t fit the description.

It’s easy – Zelle is already available in your mobile banking app and online banking. Check our app or sign in online and follow a few simple steps to enroll.

You can find a full list of participating banks and credit unions here. If your recipient’s financial institution isn’t on the list, don’t worry. The list of participating financial institutions is always growing, and your recipient can still use Zelle by downloading the Zelle app for Android and iOS. All they need to do is enter their basic contact information, an email address and U.S. mobile number, and a Visa® or Mastercard® debit card with a U.S.-based account (not including U.S. territories). Note: Zelle does not accept debit cards associated with international deposit accounts or any credit cards.

When you sign up through your online banking account or mobile banking app, Zelle receives your name and email address or U.S. mobile number along with the Windsor Federal Bank name and routing number. (Don’t worry, your sensitive account details stay private.) When someone sends you money, Zelle looks up the email address or mobile number in its “directory” and notifies the bank of the incoming payment, which directs the payment into your bank account.

No. Windsor Federal Bank does not charge any fees to use Zelle.⁴

To use Zelle, both the sender’s and recipient’s bank accounts must be based in the U.S.

You can only cancel a payment if the person you sent money to hasn’t yet enrolled with Zelle. To check whether the payment is still pending because the recipient hasn’t yet enrolled, you can go to your activity page, choose the payment you want to cancel, then select “Cancel This Payment.” If the person you sent money to has already enrolled with Zelle, the transaction cannot be canceled since they receive the money directly in their bank account. That’s why it’s so important to send money only to people you trust and always ensure you’ve used the correct email address or U.S. mobile number. If you sent money to the wrong person, we recommend contacting the recipient and requesting the money back. If you’re unable to retrieve your money, please contact your financial institution’s customer service.

Money sent with Zelle is typically available to an enrolled recipient within minutes.1 If you send money to someone who isn’t enrolled, they’ll receive a notification prompting them to enroll. After enrollment, the money will move directly to their account. If your payment is pending, we recommend confirming that the person you sent money to has enrolled with Zelle and that you entered the correct email address or U.S. mobile phone number. If you’re waiting to receive money, you should check to see if you’ve received a payment notification via email or text message. If you haven’t received a payment notification, we recommend following up with the sender to confirm they entered the correct email address or mobile number. Still having trouble? Contact your financial institution’s customer service.

Yes, they’ll receive a notification via email or text message.

Keeping your money and account information safe is a top priority. When you use Zelle within our mobile banking app or online banking, we protect your information with the same technology we use to keep your bank account safe.

If you don’t know the person or aren’t sure you’ll get what you paid for (for example, items bought from an online auction), you should not use Zelle for these types of transactions. Just as sending cash to a person you don’t know is high risk, so are these types of transactions. Remember, Zelle does not offer protection for authorized payments made under any circumstances.

Your email address or U.S. mobile phone number may already be enrolled with Zelle at another bank or credit union. Call the Windsor Federal Bank customer support team and ask them to move your email address or U.S. mobile number to your financial institution so you can use it for Zelle. Once customer support moves your email address or U.S. mobile number, it will be connected to your bank account so you can start sending and receiving money with Zelle through your mobile banking app and online banking. Need help? Please call your bank’s customer service team.