Page 82 - Pay Magazine s2014
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digital money
P2P
Poised for Growth?
80
With tech giants investing in P2P payments—and millennials driving usage—a niche may finally be ready for
the mainstream.
Few areas of financial ser- vices have seemed as ripe
for disruption as peer-to-peer
(P2P) payments, where old-school methods of cash and checks still dominate. A plethora of electronic P2P payment technologies en- abling users to pay one another quickly and securely online or
via apps have been developed
and improved upon in recent years but have failed to catch on in a big way. One of the biggest obstacles, experts say, is the difficulty of
changing consumers’ entrenched behaviors and the relative con- venience of existing systems
(see “Cash’s Tenacious Grip”).
Other major barriers include the fragmented marketplace. Senders usually must enlist each new recipient to establish an account or download an app to claim
the funds, which slows take-up. The speed of P2P funds transfers also can vary widely, from near real time for some in-app transfers to
By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor
