Zelle for Small Businesses: Send & Receive Payments | Truist (2024)

FAQs

Can my business receive payments through Zelle? ›

To receive money using Zelle® with a small business account, share your enrolled email address or United States mobile number with your customers and ask them to send you payment with Zelle® right from their banking app. No need to share any sensitive account details.

Zelle is a peer-to-peer, or P2P, money transfer service and digital payment network. While it's designed for consumer banking, you can use Zelle for business purposes to accept customer payments with a linked business bank account.

While you can use Zelle to pay your employees or contractors, it can create unintended problems surrounding proof of payment, backend paperwork, and tax payments.

Zelle can provide a fast and convenient way to send money to another person, no matter which bank they use. Unlike many of its competitors, Zelle provides instant money transfers with no fees, so you can send and receive funds more quickly.

In order to use Zelle^® with your business account, your bank or credit union must currently offer Zelle^® for your business account type. Please note that not all banks and credit unions offering Zelle^® to consumers offer Zelle^® for small businesses. So, contact your bank directly to confirm.

Limited Social Interaction. Unlike some of its competitors, Zelle lacks social elements, making it less suitable for users who prefer a more interactive and socially connected payment experience.

As a small business client, you may be able to send up to $15,000 per day with Zelle®.

Both Zelle and Venmo are cost-effective for standard transactions, making them attractive choices for businesses looking to save on payment processing fees. However, Zelle is a better option if the funding source is the customer's bank account and the bank does not charge any fees for Zelle transactions.

Unlike Venmo and other popular payment processors, Zelle doesn't report your activities to the IRS. No matter how much business income you collect via the platform, it will never issue a 1099-K form for you.

Why is Zelle asking for $300? ›

Some scams encourage people to upgrade their Zelle accounts to a business tier to receive money from a buyer, according to the Better Business Bureau, and come from emails mimicking Zelle, but with different domains. That upgrade appears to cost $300, and the buyer promises to send it if the seller will then refund it.

Checks and direct deposits are the most popular ways to pay an employee. If you use direct deposit, refer to the bank information your employees gave you. Alternatively, you can have your bank or payroll provider cut checks for employees.

Some notable financial institutions that NerdWallet has reviewed and that don't participate directly in the Zelle network include Alliant Credit Union, American Express, Barclays, Connexus Credit Union, LendingClub Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, SoFi and Synchrony Bank.

For example, select Chase customers can send $5,000 to $10,000 per day, and select Citi account holders can send up to $5,000 per day. Other banks, such as Capital One and Bank of America, have daily Zelle limits under $5,000.

You might be wondering if you can use your Zelle business account to send and receive personal payments. The short answer is “yes.” However, you'll want to double-check with your bank beforehand, if there are costs associated with it.

Fake account upgrade emails pretending to be from Zelle®

Remember, no one can upgrade your account because there are NO upgrades! If you receive a fake email pretending to be from Zelle^® do not click any of the links and report the message as suspicious to your email provider.

You'll need an email address and U.S. mobile number to create a Zelle business account. These can't be the same as the ones you use on your personal account. Alternatively, you can download the Zelle app on your mobile device from Apple Store or Google Play.