Zelle

Send and Receive Money with Zelle®

We have partnered with Zelle® to bring you a fast, safe and easy way to send and receive money with friends, family and other people you trust.2

Zelle® is available right from German American's Online Banking and Mobile Banking App so you don’t need to download anything new to start sending and receiving money!

FAST - Send money directly from your account to theirs — typically in minutes.1
SAFE - Send or receive money right from your app.
FREE - There are no fees to send money with Zelle® from our app.3

How to start using Zelle®

  1. Enroll or log in to German American Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App
  2. Select "Zelle®" under "Move Money" in Online Banking or the "Pay & Manage" menu in our Mobile App
  3. Accept Terms and Conditions
  4. Select your U.S. mobile number or email address and deposit account

That’s it! You’re ready to start sending and receiving money with Zelle®.


FAQs: Answers to common questions

  1. Zelle® is a fast, safe and easy way to send money directly between almost any bank accounts in the U.S., typically within minutes.1 With just an email address or U.S. mobile phone number, you can send money to people you trust, regardless of where they bank.1

  2. You can send money to friends, family and others you trust.1

    Since money is sent directly from your bank account to another person's bank account within minutes,1 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.

  3. To get started, log in to German American Bank's online banking or mobile app and navigate to the "Zelle®" tab found under "Move Money" in online banking and the "Pay & Manage" menu in our mobile app

    Following the prompts, enter the information requested, accept the terms and conditions, and you're ready to start sending and receiving with Zelle®.

    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.1

    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".2

    If the person you are requesting money from is not yet enrolled with Zelle®, you must use their email address to request money. If the person has enrolled their U.S. mobile number, then you can send the request using their mobile phone number.

    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 German American Bank account, typically within minutes.1

  4. 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.1

    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 German American Bank.
    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.
  5. 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.1

    Since money is sent directly from your bank account to another person's bank account within minutes,1 Zelle® should only be used to send money to friends, family and others you trust.

    Neither German American Bank 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.

  6. It's easy — Zelle® is already available within German American's Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App! Check our app or sign in online and follow a few simple steps to enroll with Zelle® today.

  7. 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 from 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.

  8. When you enroll with Zelle® through Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App, your name, the name of your Financial Institution, and the email address or U.S. mobile number you enrolled is shared with Zelle® (no sensitive account details are shared – those stay with German American Bank).

    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 German American Bank of the incoming payment. German American Bank then directs the payment into your bank account, all while keeping your sensitive account details private.

  9. In order to use Zelle®, the sender's and recipient's bank accounts must be based in the U.S.

  10. 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 our Customer Care Team at (800)482-1314 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 German American Bank but are a separate service from Zelle® and can take one to three 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.

  11. Money sent with Zelle® is typically available to an enrolled recipient within minutes.1

    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 directly in your recipient's account, typically within minutes.1

    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 our Customer Care Team at (800)482-1314.

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

  13. Keeping your money and information safe is a top priority for German American Bank. When you use Zelle® within German American Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App, your information is protected with the same technology we use to keep your bank account safe.

  14. 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 German American Bank 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.

  15. Your email address or U.S. mobile phone number may already be enrolled with Zelle® at another bank or credit union. Call our Customer Care Team at (800)482-1314 and ask them to move your email address or U.S. mobile phone number to your financial institution so you can use it for Zelle®.

    Once customer support moves your email address or U.S. mobile phone number, it will be connected to your bank account so you can start sending and receiving money with Zelle® through your German American Bank banking app and online banking. Please call our Customer Care Team at (800)482-1314 for help.


Watch the video to learn more about Zelle®

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Not already a German American Bank customer? Learn more about our checking accounts.

1 U.S. checking or savings account required to use Zelle®. Transactions between enrolled users typically occur in minutes.
2 In order to send payment requests or split payment requests to a U.S. mobile number, the mobile number must already be enrolled with Zelle®.
3 Mobile network carrier fees may apply.

Zelle and the Zelle related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license.