Zelle^®

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

You can send, request, or receive money with Zelle^®.

1. To get started, log into the Firefighters First Credit Union’s online banking or mobile app, navigate to Move Money and select "Zelle^®". Accept terms and conditions, enter your email address or U.S. mobile phone number, receive a one-time verification code, enter it, and you're ready to start sending and receiving with Zelle^®.
2. To send money using Zelle^®, simply add a trusted recipient's email address or U.S. mobile phone number, enter the amount you'd like to send and an optional note, review, then hit "Send." In most cases, the money is available to your recipient in minutes.
3. To request money using Zelle^®, choose "Request," select the individual(s) from whom you'd like to request money, enter the amount you'd like to request, include an optional note, review and hit "Request"³.
4. To 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 have already enrolled with Zelle^®, you do not need to take any further action. The money will be sent directly into your bank account and will be available typically within minutes.

If you have not yet enrolled with Zelle^®, follow these steps:

1. Click on the link provided in the payment notification you received via email or text message.
2. Select Firefighters First Credit Union.
3. Follow the instructions provided on the page 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 U.S. mobile number where you received the notification to ensure you receive your money.

Zelle^® is a great way to send money to family, friends, and people you are familiar with such as your personal trainer, babysitter or neighbor.

Since money is sent directly from your bank account to another person's bank account within minutes, Zelle^® should only be used to send money to friends, family and others you trust.

If you don’t know the person or aren’t sure you will get what you paid for (for example, items bought from an online bidding or sales site), you should not use Zelle®. These transactions are potentially high risk (just like sending cash to a person you don’t know is high risk).

Neither Firefighters First Credit Union nor Zelle^® offers a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle^® – for example, if you do not receive the item you paid for or the item is not as described or as you expected.

It's easy – Zelle^® is already available within online Move Money and your mobile banking app! Check our app or sign-in online and follow a few simple steps to enroll with Zelle^® today.

You can find a full list of participating banks and credit unions live with Zelle^® 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.

To enroll with the Zelle^® app, your recipient will 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 (does not include U.S. territories). Zelle^® does not accept debit cards associated with international deposit accounts or any credit cards.

When you enroll with Zelle^® through your online banking Move Money account, or mobile banking app, your name, the name of your bank, and the email address or U.S. mobile number you enrolled is shared with Zelle^® (no sensitive account details are shared – those stay with Firefighters First Credit Union).

When someone sends money to your enrolled email address or U.S. mobile number, Zelle^® looks up the email address or mobile number in its "directory" and notifies Firefighters First Credit Union of the incoming payment. Firefighters First Credit Union then directs the payment into your bank account, all while keeping your sensitive account details private.

In order to use Zelle^®, the sender 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, and then select "Cancel This Payment."

If the person you sent money to has already enrolled with Zelle^®, the money is sent directly to their bank account and cannot be canceled. This is why it's important to only send money to people you trust, and always ensure you've used the correct email address or U.S. mobile number when sending money.

If you sent money to the wrong person, we recommend contacting the recipient and requesting the money back. If you aren't able to get your money back, please call member services at 800-231-1626 so we can help you.

Scheduled or recurring payments sent directly to your recipient’s account number (instead of an email address or mobile number) are made available by Firefighters First Credit Union but are a separate service from Zelle^® and can take 1 – 3 business days to process.

You can cancel a payment that is scheduled in advance if the money has not already been deducted from your account.

Money sent with Zelle^® is typically available to an enrolled recipient within minutes.

If you send money to someone who isn't enrolled with Zelle^®, they will receive a notification prompting them to enroll. After enrollment, the money will be available in your recipient's account, typically within minutes.

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 U.S. mobile phone number.

Still having trouble? Please contact member services at 800-231-1626.

Yes! They will receive a notification via email or text message.

If you don't know the person, or aren't sure you will get what you paid for (for example, items bought from an online bidding or sales site), you should not use Zelle^® for these types of transactions.

These transactions are potentially high risk (just like sending cash to a person you don't know is high risk). Neither Firefighters First Credit Union nor Zelle^® offers a protection program for any authorized payments made with Zelle ^®– for example, if you do not receive the item you paid for or the item is not as described or as you expected.

Your email address or U.S. mobile phone number may already be enrolled with Zelle^® at another bank or credit union. Call a Member Advisor at 800-231-1626 and ask them to move your email address or U.S. mobile phone number to Firefighters First Credit Union so you can use it for Zelle^®.

Once a Member Advisor moves your email address or U.S. mobile phone number, it will be connected to your Firefighters First Credit Union account so you can start sending and receiving money with Zelle^® through the Firefighters First Credit Union mobile banking app and online banking. Please call a Member Advisor at 800-231-1626  for help.

No, the tax law does not apply to Zelle® and Zelle® does not report transactions made on the Zelle Network® to the IRS.

The American Rescue Plan, passed by Congress, required certain payment networks to provide form 1099K to report the sale of goods and services. This occurred if the processed amount exceeded $20,000 and numbered at least 200 transactions. Effective tax year 2022, that reporting threshold was reduced to $600 and the minimum number of transactions removed completely. Again, this tax law does not apply to the Zelle Network^®, and Zelle^® does not issue 1099k forms for payments made on the Zelle Network^®.

Zelle® QR codes provide peace of mind knowing you can send money to the right person without typing an email address or mobile number. Find Zelle® in the Firefighters First Credit Union app, click “Send,” then click on the QR code icon displayed at the top of the “Recipients” screen. Your phone’s camera will open. To send money using a Zelle® QR code, simply point your camera at the recipient’s Zelle® QR code, enter the amount and hit “Send,” and the money is on the way! When sending money to someone new, it’s always important to confirm the recipient is correct by reviewing the displayed name before sending money. You can also locate your Zelle® QR code by opening the Firefighters First Credit Union app, navigating to "Move Money” and clicking your Zelle® settings. From here, you can see your Zelle® QR code.