The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) alleged that various factors, including Zelle's relatively 'limited identification methods', allowed fraud to run rampant.

Customers across the three banks have lost a combined $870 million since Zelle launched in 2017, regulators claim.

Zelle operator Early Warning Services rushed the platform to market to compete with the likes of Venmo and CashApp but without effective safeguards, the agency said.