Zelle is the brand name for Early Warning Services, which used to be called clearXchange, and is owned by the biggest banks themselves. When I write there is no middleman or third party, I mean that the money goes from the sender's account to the recipient's account. With PayPal/Venmo/Apple Cash/etc, the money goes from the sender's account, to Paypal/Venmo/Apple/etc's account, and then to the recipient.

Also, with Zelle, you never need to give anyone your bank account number, and you are never authorizing anyone to reach into your account and take money via ACH, like you are with Paypal/Venmo/Apple Cash/etc. It’s also instant.

https://www.earlywarning.com/about

>Early Warning Services, LLC, is a fintech company owned by seven of the country’s largest banks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelle_(payment_service)

>Zelle is a United States–based digital payments network owned by Early Warning Services, a private financial services company owned by the banks Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.[1][2][3] The Zelle service enables individuals to electronically transfer money from their bank account to another registered user's bank account (within the United States) using a mobile device or the website of a participating banking institution.[1][3]

> Also, with Zelle, you never need to give anyone your bank account number

As a non-American, seeing this listed as a plus is always so strange.

It’s beyond ridiculous. The safe thing to do in the US is to have accounts which you don’t give info to anyone. And then you setup ACH transfers from that account to a checking account you use for expenses, and only keep smaller amounts in the checking account enough for money going out in the near future.