A new report from Aite Group estimates the transaction and dollar volume of P2P payments across payment channels and methods and by recipient and recipient location in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Based on an August 2010 Aite Group survey of 3,190 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, the report provides insight into consumers’ person-to-person (P2P) transaction behavior.
Although the average consumer might not be familiar with the term “P2P payments,” consumers make them all the time. P2P-or “person-to-person”-transactions are the exchange of funds between two individuals or non-business entities. What was once a relatively simple transaction, usually involving handing over cash or writing a check, has evolved into a wide range of potential transaction types, with at least 16 different payment methods and nine different payment channels.
“Despite the emergence of many alternative methods of payment, cash still accounts for the majority of P2P payments in the three regions studied,” says Ron Shevlin, senior analyst with Aite Group and co-author of this report. “The tiny percentage of P2P transactions that are conducted through a mobile device belies the future potential for mobile P2P payments. Aite Group believes that as smartphone adoption continues to increase-it’s projected to reach 50% in the United States by the end of 2011-mobile P2P payment activity will increase at the expense of cash and checks.”
D.C.