Zelle payments can be put on hold for a couple of reasons. One common reason is if the recipient has not yet enrolled with Zelle. When you send money through Zelle, it requires both the sender and the recipient to have a Zelle account linked to their respective bank accounts. If the recipient has not signed up for Zelle or linked their bank account to the service, the payment will remain pending.
The purpose of this hold is to ensure that the money does not move from your account until the recipient is ready to receive it. This is a security measure to prevent funds from being sent to the wrong person or to an account that is not set up to receive Zelle payments. By keeping the payment on hold, it gives the recipient time to enroll with Zelle and link their bank account.
If the recipient does not enroll with Zelle within 14 days, the payment will expire. This means that the transaction will be canceled, and the money will not be transferred. In this case, you will need to initiate the payment again once the recipient has enrolled with Zelle.
It’s important to note that Zelle is a peer-to-peer payment service, and both parties involved in the transaction need to have Zelle accounts for it to work smoothly. If the recipient is not familiar with Zelle or has not yet signed up, it may take some time for them to complete the enrollment process.
In my personal experience, I have encountered situations where I needed to send money to someone who had never used Zelle before. I initiated the payment, but it remained pending until the recipient enrolled with Zelle. It took a few days for them to sign up and link their bank account, but once they did, the payment went through smoothly.
To summarize, Zelle payments can be put on hold if the recipient has not yet enrolled with Zelle or linked their bank account. This is a security measure to ensure that the money does not move from your account until the recipient is ready to receive it. If the recipient does not enroll within 14 days, the payment will expire, and you will need to initiate the payment again.