In Zelle We Trust

In Venezuela, money transfer services are enabling what may be the world’s first digital dollarization

- Andrew Rosati, Alex Vasquez, and Jenny Surane

When Federico Suárez made an overnight trip to Valencia last month to visit his boyfriend, the 24-year-old Caracasbased lawyer was in the mood to splurge. Over the course of a weekend, the couple enjoyed an empanada breakfast, shopped for imported cheeses and pasta, and then went out for a romantic sushi dinner.

All were purchased using Zelle, the money transfer service owned by a group of seven of the largest U.S. banks. “I can pay for things everywhere. The only problem is, I buy more than I should,” says Suárez.

PayPal and Venmo may have achieved the status of verbs in the U.S., but in Venezuela, it’s Zelle—or “Zell-ey”—that’s on everyone’s lips. Across Caracas, homemade signs that read Aceptamos Zelle (We accept Zelle) dangle in store windows and off produce stands. Computer printouts of the purple company logo are taped to cash registers in supermarkets, some of which have dedicated lines for customers paying with the app. The improvised signage is a hint that Venezuelans’ use of Zelle to provide relief from a rapidly depreciating currency and runaway inflation, while not prohibited, could certainly be described as off-label.

It works for impulse buys, like a candy bar or a new pair of sneakers, as well as for more essential needs. “Without Zelle, we would have fewer patients,” says Dr. Antonio Farfán, a surgeon at a private clinic in Caracas. “I know it’s meant for occasional payments, but here it’s everything.”