US bank-owned mobile payment brand Zelle processed $22 billion across 75 million transactions in the last three months of 2017 – its first results since the release of its standalone app.

Zelle launched in June 2017 as a person-to-person (P2P) cash transfer feature within the apps of some of the largest retail banks and credit unions in the US. It was created by banking consortium Early Warning Services (EWS) and replaced member companies’ existing cross-bank P2P facilities.

In September 2017 the company added a standalone app, placing it in direct competition with the hugely successful PayPal Venmo platform.

By the end of 2017 the network of financial service institutions using Zelle had expanded to 60 – double the number targeted for its first 12 months of operation. At the time the service was available to 95 million customers through bank-branded services, in addition to those downloading the specific Zelle app.

“2017 was a banner year for Zelle,” EWS CEO Paul Finch said: “The banking industry launched the first real-time P2P payments network, and millions of consumers responded by embracing a new way to pay.”

“Consumers are looking to digital solutions to replace physical cheques and cash as a way to pay friends and family. The convenience of Zelle on more than 95 million phones provides a unique market opportunity to change consumer mobile banking behaviour.”

Earlier in January, Bank of America head of enterprise payments Mark Monaco described the impact of Zelle as “overwhelming” as the retail bank reported a 91 per cent year-on-year growth for in-app P2P transfers.