Mobile payments apps have become insanely popular, so many companies and institutions are making their own and trying to one-up the rest. The latest offering on the market is Zelle, which is the product of a handful of top-rated banks and credit unions across the US getting together to try and create something seamless. It was said to be a way that consumers could bank-to-bank transfers, since banks would be corroborating together on this project. It’s a great idea, at least in theory, but some folks are still opting to use, say, Square Cash.
If you’re not sure if you should ditch Square Cash and give Zelle a try, we’re here to help. We’ll show you the pros and cons of both, and then help you make an informed decision from there.
Square Cash
Square Cash has been around for some time now, and has seen a ton of improvements that have benefited consumers. First off, like most mobile payment apps, Square Cash allows you to send and request money from friends, family, and businesses. Sending and receiving with friends and family is entirely free of charge, but there might be a small fee attached to business transactions.
One of the neat things about Square Cash is that you can use your bank account or a debit card attached to a US checking account. Your bank account will allow you to withdraw money to your Square Cash account, although it can take a few days to deposit the funds in your Square Cash account, since it is an ACH transaction. The same goes the other way around — it can take a few days to deposit into your bank account if you are withdrawing from your Square Cash account.
Now, the neat thing about attaching your debit card to your Square Cash account is the ability to do instant transactions. With the attached debit card, you can send money to friends and family instantaneously. Not only that, but any money you receive in your Square Cash account can instantly be “cashed out” for a small 0.01% fee on the total amount being transferred. It’s sent to your bank account, and is ready to be used within minutes, but more often, seconds.
Another neat thing is that you can use Square Cash just like you would a PayPal card. You can request a Cash Card in the mail, Square will send it to you, and then you can pay for normal, everyday transactions by swiping the card at stores. It’ll pay your bill out of your Square Cash balance, but if there isn’t enough funds, it’ll pull from your bank, using your primary method of payment linked to your Square Cash account.
Download it now: Google Play
Zelle
Zelle is the mobile payment app that was created in partnership with top-rated banks and credit unions across the US. The idea was to be able to offer bank-to-bank transfers, since most financial institutions would be participating in this. It’s a great idea on paper, but unfortunately, Zelle wasn’t able to complete it’s goal.
We’re going to be upfront about this: we don’t recommend downloading and using Zelle for transferring funds at all. There are an insane amount of reports of bugs and glitches that won’t even let users create accounts. If they can get past that, usually sending money errors out and puts them back at square one. There are some user reviews that are even claiming that they’re money has disappeared into thin air, and it’s almost nigh impossible to get a hold of customer service with hour long wait times.
Zelle is a fairly recent addition to the mobile payment world, but in its current state, it shouldn’t have even be released. There’s a lot of polishing to do, and there’s even financial institutions backing out of it, which is making a whole host of Zelle users ineligible to continue using the mobile payment app (since their bank isn’t using the mobile payment app with their services anymore).
Right now, you’re better off giving Square Cash a go, but if you still want to take Zelle for a trial run, you can do so for free at the link below. Keep in mind that Zelle does say that some of your own bank fees may apply, though.
Download it now: Google Play
Verdict
As you can see, Square Cash is the superior mobile payment app here. Square has been around for a long time and has been able to properly polish their payment apps to meet the needs of their customers. While the idea of Zelle would make transactions very fast, Square Cash is also super fast, especially if you’re willing to pay the small fee for instant transactions (after all, Square Cash does have to make their money somehow).