Feds sue Zelle, alleging that nation’s biggest banks failed to stop fraud

Three Major banks and Zelle rushed to bring a peer-to-peer payment network to market without first ensuring users would be protected against “widespread” fraud, alleges a lawsuit filed on Friday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo ignored customer complaints related to Zelle, with users losing hundreds of millions of dollars in scams, the regulatory agency alleges. Zelle is run by Early Warning Services, which is owned by the three banks named in the CFPB’s suit, along with four other financial institutions. 

According to the CFPB, bank customers have lost more than $870 million over the seven years Zelle has been in operation. Early Warning and the three banks named in the complaint hastily created the payments network to head off rival payment apps including Venmo and CashApp without adequately protecting end users, the suit alleges.  

“The nation’s largest banks felt threatened by competing apps, so they rushed to put out Zelle,” Rohit Chopra, the CFPB’s director, said in a statement. “By their failing to put in place proper safeguards, Zelle became a gold mine for fraudsters, while often leaving victims to fends for themselves.” 

Zelle blasted the CFPB’s accusations as “legally and factually flawed,” with a spokesperson also suggesting the timing of the suit as “driven by political factors unrelated” to the company.

JPMorgan also accused the agency of pursuing a “political agenda,” stating that the agency was “overreaching its authority by making banks accountable for criminals, even including romance scammers.” 

JPMorgan Chase said it prevents nearly $20 billion in fraud attempts each year, and that 99.95% of its transactions are completed without dispute. 

A spokesperson for Wells Fargo declined to comment. Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Offered by more than 2,200 banks and credit unions, Zelle has more than 143 million users in the U.S., according to the suit. Customers transferred a total of $481 billion in conducting 1.7 billion transactions during the first half of 2024, the CFPB noted. 

Hundreds of thousands of customers filed fraud complaints and were denied assistance by Zelle and the three banks, according to the suit, which noted that some people were advised to contact those behind the fraud to get their money back.

Zelle “has been slow to implement anti-fraud measures, including closing accounts accused of fraud,” Jaret Seiberg, an analyst with TD Cowen Washington Research Group, said in a report, pointing to the CFPB’s allegations. “It also permitted the registration of emails that were impersonating legitimate entities, including Zelle itself.”

Since Zelle launched in 2017, according to the CFPB, JPMorgan Chase received 420,00 customer complaints involving more than $360 million; Bank of America heard from 210,000 customers with more than $290 million in fraud losses; and Wells Fargo tallied $220 million in fraud losses by 280,000 people.

“These troubling alleged practices need to be addressed by all parties as quickly as possible,” Mike Litt, consumer campaign director at US PIRG, a consumer advocacy group. “It’s crucial that in our increasingly cashless age, we have digital financial systems that the public can trust and use without fear of losing their money.” 

In 2023 Early Warning began refunding money to an undisclosed number of fraud victims amid pressure from lawmakers. In late 2022, Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued a report that found increasing incidents of fraud and scams to be occurring on the popular payment app, with large banks typically reluctant to compensate victims, the Massachusetts Democrat said.