PayPal is no longer the world’s largest payment network: here’s who beat it in 2024

Zelle says the total volume on its peer-to-peer platform surpassed $1.0 trillion in 2024.

It was “by far the most money ever moved by a P2P payments service in a single year,” its general manager, Denise Leonhard, said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

Zelle’s announcement is all the more significant since it suggests the payment network is growing much faster than its major rival, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL).

In 2024, PayPal saw total peer-to-peer payments volume of more than $400 billion only.

Zelle has an advantage over PayPal

Zelle saw a 12% annualised growth in its user base last year to 151 million. The overall value of transactions made through the peer-to-peer platform was up 27% as well in 2024.

The digital payments company based out of Scottsdale has an edge over competitors, including PayPal, Venmo, and CashApp, since it’s operated by Early Warning Services, which in turn is owned by the largest US banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and even JPMorgan.

Zelle enables users to make instant transactions through apps of more than 2,000 financial institutions it currently has on its network.

The peer-to-peer platform is seeing rapid growth as bank customers and small businesses continue to switch from cash or checks to digital services.

“People are using Zelle in order to do things like pay their rent or paying their nanny. We want to continue to be top of mind for those customers to be able to use this every day,” Leonhard added.

PayPal stock still remains worth owning

Shares of PayPal Holdings Inc. lost nearly 2.0% this morning following Zelle’s announcement that suggests it’s losing market share in the US.

Still, Macquarie analyst Paul Golding remains super bullish on PYPL. His $117 price target indicates potential for about a 50% upside from current levels.

Golding has confidence in PayPal’s ability to innovate and expand its services in pursuit of higher revenues and improved profitability.

PayPal stock does not, however, pay a dividend in writing.

How did PYPL do in its fiscal Q4

Zelle’s update arrives only days after PayPal reported better-than-expected financial results for its fourth quarter.

In Q1, the Nasdaq-listed firm now sees its adjusted per-share earnings come in at $1.16. – well above the $1.13 a share that experts had forecast.

“The improvements we made to branded checkout, peer-to-peer, and Venmo, plus the progress we made on our price-to-value strategy, are beginning to show up in our results,” CEO Alex Chriss said in a press release.

At the time, the fintech also revealed plans to buy back $15 billion worth of its stock – $6.0 billion of which will be repurchased in 2025.