Well, it can't be covered by the FDIC anymore than a stack of hundred dollar bills can or a fraudulent check can.
People who think it should be covered by the FDIC either don't understand what the FDIC does, what Zelle is or both.
But it raises an interesting point. People maybe have a higher level of trust because it's at the bank, not some separate service. Zelle at my bank has big notices that say something pointing out that this is like giving someone cash and you should only do this if you have verified the identity and you would be comfortable giving this much cash to the person.
Personally, I like Zelle. As far as technical infrastructure, it seems fairly secure AFAIK, it allows free and instant transfers, has excellent privacy protection compared to Venmo (which I flat out refuse to touch). In our neighborhood, because of distance to the stores, people are constantly picking up a few things at the grocery store for us and vice-versa and Zelle is the default payment method for that.
