Early Warning Services, the parent company of the Zelle peer-to-peer money transfer service, announced plans to enable international payments using stablecoins. This move aims to expand Zelle's reach beyond domestic transactions. The company cited improved U.S. regulatory clarity as a key enabler.
Early Warning Services, owned by seven major banks, currently limits Zelle to domestic money transfers. On Friday, the company issued a news release stating it will leverage stablecoins—digital assets pegged to fiat currencies like the dollar or euro—to allow users to send money overseas.
"The effort marks an important step in expanding the reach of Zelle globally by leveraging stablecoins," the release said. However, it provided no specific timeline for the rollout, and a spokesperson declined to offer further details.
Cross-border payments are frequently highlighted as a practical application for stablecoins. Industry analysts note that these assets could speed up international transfers and reduce costs by avoiding traditional payment systems.
The announcement comes amid a more favorable U.S. regulatory environment for cryptocurrency under President Donald Trump's administration, which has shown greater openness compared to the prior Biden administration. Trump signed the Genius Act in July to establish a digital asset regulatory framework.
"With improved regulatory clarity in the U.S., we can focus on what we do best: Driving innovation to market," said Early Warning Services CEO Cameron Fowler in the release.
Zelle has seen significant growth, processing over $1 trillion in payments for the first time in its eight-year history last year, according to a February statement from the company. At that time, it served 151 million consumer and small business accounts.