Early Warning enlists Levvel to bring Zelle to smaller banks, credit unions

The largest U.S. banks got a head start in launching Zelle through their mobile apps about 18 months ago, working closely with Zelle’s owner Early Warning Services LLC. It’s taking longer for smaller institutions to get up and running, due to some technical complexity.

To accelerate the onboarding process for community banks and credit unions, Early Warning has formed an agreement with Charlotte, N.C.-based I.T. consulting firm Levvel to provide official professional services for the Zelle Network, the companies announced in a Wednesday press release.

“Many community banks and credit unions rely on a combination of vendors to fully launch Zelle,” said Scott Harkey, Levvel’s head of financial services and strategy, in the release.

Levvel will assist institutions in sorting through “some of the complexity” involved in the full integration of Zelle, Harkey added in the release.

“Levvel brings a deep understanding of digital payments that will help financial institutions, not only with easing the complex integration of Zelle, but also with the strategy needed to develop a holistic faster payment strategy,” said Jamie Armistead, vice president and product line leader for Zelle, in the release.