Zelle is a U.S.-based digital payment service owned by Early Warning Services, LLC, that lets people send and receive money almost instantly between bank accounts using email addresses or phone numbers. It’s not its own standalone bank—instead, it’s built into the apps of many major banks and credit unions (like Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo).
On the other hand, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., is one of the largest consumer and commercial banks in the United States. However, it's important to note that Zelle and Chase aren’t the same company, but Chase is one of Zelle’s participating banks. Due to this partnership, Zelle is directly inside its mobile app and website.
In that sense, if you’re a Chase customer, you can send and receive money through Zelle without downloading a separate Zelle app—it’s already built into Chase’s online banking. When you send money from Chase using Zelle, the transfer happens bank-to-bank over Zelle’s network within minutes whether or not the recipient’s bank also uses Zelle.
The big question here is, can a Zelle payment made through Chase be reversed? It's unfortunate to let you know that Zelle payments made through Chase, or any other bank, cannot be reversed once sent. Zelle payments are designed to be instant and irreversible. Once a payment is sent, it is immediately deposited into the recipient's bank account.
How to Get a Refund
Zelle payments are like giving someone cash—they happen in near real-time and are designed for trusted recipients. Once the money is accepted, Chase and Zelle generally won’t pull it back unless it’s due to a technical error or certain types of fraud. Meanwhile, the options are just limited—but not necessarily zero.
Here's a list of things you can do to get a refund:
- Contact the recipient immediately: Once you notice that you've sent a Zelle payment to the wrong person/account, get in touch with the person and politely ask them to send it back. However, if the account is not real, the money will remain unclaimed, and you can easily log in to your Chase mobile app to cancel the payment as explained in this guide.
- Call Chase immediately: This method only works if the money hasn't been claimed. If you notice the Zelle payment hasn't been claimed, instantly contact Chase, and the bank will freeze the transaction, start a dispute or investigation if fraud is suspected, and advise on next steps for the fund recovery.
- Report fraud: If you were tricked or scammed into making a Zelle payment, you can simply file a claim with Chase and also report the situation to Zelle through their website, the Federal Trade Commission, IC3 (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center), or the local police around you. However, it's important to note that this doesn’t guarantee a refund but creates an official trail that will lead back to you if the fund is eventually recovered from the scammer’s bank account.
- Cancel payment if still Pending: You can cancel the Zelle payment in the Chase app or website before the recipient accepts it. To do that, log in to your Chase Mobile app, tap the ≡ Menu icon, and go to Pay & Transfer → Send money with Zelle. Under that page, tap Activity to see pending and completed payments. Now, select the pending payment in question and tap "Cancel." The payment will be cancelled and reversed to your bank account. This method also works on the chase.com website.
In conclusion, Zelle payments made through Chase cannot be refunded or reversed, but they can be canceled if the recipient is not yet enrolled or has not accepted the payment.
