Early Warning

The primary activity of Early Warning Services, LLC is to provide innovative solutions in the field of payments and risk management for the U.S. banking sector. The company develops and operates products and services designed to enable fast and secure payments, prevent fraud, and strengthen confidence in financial transactions.

Among its main products are :

• Zelle® : a digital payment network that allows consumers and small businesses to send and receive money quickly, safely and easily, typically within minutes, even between different banks.
• Paze® : an online payment solution (digital wallet) that aggregates a consumer’s eligible credit and debit cards into a single digital wallet, thereby facilitating secure checkout on merchant sites without sharing card numbers with merchants.
• Payment and identity risk management solutions : network intelligence tools that enable financial institutions to prevent fraud and secure account openings and transactions.

Early Warning’s target market includes more than 2,500 financial institutions, banks, credit unions, government agencies and payment companies in the United States. The company serves both consumers and small businesses, offering them solutions for fast, reliable and secure payments while helping institutions protect their customers against fraud.

Early Warning Services, LLC is an American company specializing in payment innovation and risk management for the banking sector. Founded over 35 years ago, Early Warning has established itself as a key player in securing and streamlining financial transactions in the United States.

Key milestones in its development:

• Founding: Early Warning was founded over 35 years ago, with the initial mission of collaborating with banks, credit unions, and government agencies to strengthen trust and security in financial transactions.
• Development of risk management solutions: The company developed network intelligence solutions enabling more than 2,500 financial institutions to prevent fraud and reduce friction in banking operations.
• Launch of Zelle®: Early Warning is behind the digital payment network Zelle®, one of the most widely used person-to-person payment services in the United States. In 2024, Zelle® reached 151 million registered accounts and enabled the transfer of over $1 trillion in a single year, a record for this type of service.
• Launch of Paze®: Early Warning also launched Paze®, a digital wallet solution that allows consumers to make online payments securely without sharing their card numbers with merchants. More than 165 million cards are eligible for this solution.
• Strategic partnerships: The company works closely with more than 2,500 financial institutions, government agencies, and payment companies to build a safe and inclusive financial ecosystem.
• Fraud prevention: Thanks to its solutions, Early Warning estimates it has helped prevent up to $3 billion in potential fraud per year.
• Continuous innovation: Early Warning continues to innovate in security, transparency, and inclusion, developing new products and adapting its strategies to meet emerging challenges in the financial sector.

Today, Early Warning plays a central role in modernizing payments and protecting consumers and businesses, relying on a vast network and advanced technologies to build trust in the American financial ecosystem.

The founder of Early Warning Services is a joint venture created by several major American banks, not by a single individual. The main founding banks include Bank of America, BB&T (now Truist), Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, US Bank, and Wells Fargo.

The current leadership team includes:

• Al Ko – CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
• Eric Woodward – President, Product & Strategy
• Julie Schicktanz – Chief Financial Officer
• Melissa Lowry – Chief Marketing Officer
• John Ahrens – Chief Technology Officer
• Ben Milne – Chief Product Officer
• Jill Yetman – Chief People Officer

This leadership team oversees the operations and strategy of Early Warning, including the Zelle payment service.