Are there limits for sending and receiving money with Zelle®?

To get started with Zelle®, log in to online banking or our mobile banking app and navigate to Zelle®. Accept the terms and conditions, enter your email address or U.S. mobile number and share your deposit account. From there, you’ll receive a one-time verification code. Enter it and you’ll be ready to start using Zelle®.

Sending, requesting and receiving money with Zelle® is as easy as one-two-three:

1. To send money using Zelle®, simply add a trusted recipient’s email address or U.S. mobile phone number, then enter the amount you’d like to send and an optional note. From there, you can review and hit “Send.” In most cases, the money will be available to your recipient in minutes if they’re already enrolled with Zelle®.
2. To request money using Zelle®, choose “Request,” select the individual from whom you’d like to request money, enter the amount you’d like to request and include an optional note. From there, review and hit “Request.”¹ If the person you’re 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 number.
3. To receive money, simply share your enrolled email address or U.S. mobile number with a friend and ask them to send you money with Zelle®. If you’ve already enrolled with Zelle®, you don’t need to take any further action. The money will be sent directly to your account, typically within minutes.

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.²

Since money is sent directly from your Gate City Bank account to another person’s bank account within minutes,² Zelle® should only be used to send money to friends, family and others you know and trust.

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®. These transactions are higher risk (just like sending cash to a person you don’t know has a higher risk than using a debit card.)

At Gate City Bank, there are no fees to send or receive money with Zelle®, except for the BankOn accounts. However, there is a fee to cancel a Zelle® transaction that is still pending due to the recipient having not yet enrolled. If the recipient doesn’t enroll with Zelle® within 14 days, the payment will naturally expire, the funds will be returned to your account and no fees will be assessed. (Note: Your mobile carrier’s messaging and data rates may still apply.)

To use Zelle®, the sender and recipient’s bank or credit union accounts must be based in the U.S.

As of March 31, 2025, all users must be enrolled with one of the more than 2,200 banks and credit unions which offer Zelle® in order to send and receive money. You can find a full list of participating banks and credit unions live with Zelle® at ZellPay.com. If a bank or credit union is not listed, it is recommended to use another payment method.