Oct 31 (Reuters) - Peer-to-peer payments platform Zelle

is shifting users away from its stand-alone mobile app in favor

of using the platform via banking apps, Zelle's parent company

said on Thursday.

Zelle, a payments network owned by seven banks including

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and Bank of America ( BAC ), initially

promoted its mobile app when it launched in 2017 to users whose

financial institutions had not yet joined the network.

But now, with more than 2,200 banks and credit unions on the

Zelle network, only 2% of Zelle transactions take place through

the mobile app, according to Early Warning Services (EWS), the

banks' company that owns Zelle.

As a result, Zelle will focus on improving its functionality

on banking apps, where the majority of users choose to send and

receive payments, said Denise Leonhard, general manager of

Zelle.

"Given that that is really the strategy and the majority of

the use that we're seeing, we are really pivoting in order to

strengthen that going forward," she said.

The move highlights how widely Zelle has been adopted by

U.S. banks, despite competition from big tech competitors like

ApplePay and GooglePay.

The separate Zelle app will continue to be available, but

will be dedicated to educating consumers about scams and fraud

and will offer a list of participating firms on the Zelle

network.

Users of the standalone Zelle app will need to re-enroll at

their bank or credit union to be able to send and receive

payments on the network starting in March 2025.

Reports of fraud and scams on Zelle have attracted attention

from U.S. lawmakers, including Democratic Senator Elizabeth

Warren, and from regulators concerned over consumer protection.

Last year, banks on the Zelle network began refunding victims of

imposter scams to address consumer protection concerns.