PayPal

The race to dominate person-to-person transfers has been a curious one so far, because P-to-P typically isn’t a money-maker for banks or even for PayPal, whose Venmo unit is generating red-hot growth this year in the category.

At this week's Money2020 conference, payment execs like PayPal's Bill Ready say consumers will make purchases in a broad context of shopping, and if merchants aren’t poised to meet their audiences there, they will get left behind, Ready said.

PayPal Holdings Inc. said it will make more money in coming years than previously expected, easing concern that recent deals with credit card companies would suppress earnings.

Mobile technology is radically changing the way people hail taxis, book lodging, consume entertainment and find prospective dates, but the same magic isn’t happening with how people spend money.