P-to-P payments

Reflecting the rapid transition to digital payments, PayPal has reported its strongest growth in total payment volume and revenue in its history, coupled with strong growth for Venmo, its P2P app.

The person-to-person network is being used more often for purchasing, with consumer payments to small businesses up sharply.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to stifle economic growth globally, Western Union again pointed to its fast-growing digital services as key to keeping the company on a positive trend.

Bank of America has seen a 33% increase in cash gifts flowing through the Zelle P2P app since the start of the pandemic, with total gifting volume reaching $1 billion.

The brand's youthful customer base will make its model common among other payment companies, says TLGG's Katrin Zimmerman.

At a time when contactless payments via QR codes are on the rise, Incognia is launching a fraud protection solution for payments providers, retailers and restaurants.

The European Payments Initiative sets up a unified and harmonized pan-European payment solution, providing major benefits to both consumers and merchants, says FIME's Arnaud Crouzet.

The companies looking to bolster their presence and offer more services are hoping it will lead to greater sustainability and longevity of their platform, says Ding's Rupert Shaw.

Coronavirus galvanized the use of NFC payments and QR codes, and PayPal wants to harness both trends for Venmo’s first credit card.

Swift is working with more than 20 banks in its network to test a service designed to help consumers and small and medium-size companies send low-value cross-border payments with the same speed and transparency benefits larger banks enjoy on Swift rails.

COVID-19 has accelerated changes in payments behavior that would otherwise have taken years to occur, laying the foundation for global expansion post-pandemic. But for different parts of the world, this digital transformation had very different outcomes.

Square is entering the earned wage access (EWA) fray, but it’s taking a tailored approach that aims to drive transaction volume within its Cash App.

Transfiya, a blockchain-based funds transfer system, is transforming payments in Colombia for the benefit of underbanked and financially excluded consumers.

Amid the economic and health wreckage the COVID-19 global pandemic has created, payments have stepped to the forefront in a way that has allowed banks, merchants and consumers to not only continue to do business, but also to increase communication.

Providing core payment capabilities, like debit and credit or P2P, are a business necessity. But you must also have a host of complementary services and capabilities that surround these services, says Fiserv's Himanshu Patel.

Payments platform APEXX Global is working with PayPal to expand payment methods to e-commerce merchants using APEXX, including the addition of the Venmo P2P digital wallet.

It was an attention-grabbing decision when Facebook hired PayPal's president, David Marcus, in 2014. At the time, Facebook didn't have much of a dedicated payments business to speak of; when people thought of spending money on Facebook, they typically thought of in-app purchases in Farmville.

The shift to electronic payments during the coronavirus has led to a notable increase in in-app debit card payments—particularly via Apple Pay—along with higher levels of direct debit and P2P debit card transfers.

The deal is said to be well-suited to the coronavirus era, when in-person transactions have been limited by social distancing and other factors.

Square's gross payment volume tumbled by 15% year-over-year due to COVID-19’s impact, but revenue jumped as online selling rose, Cash App doubled in users and Square enabled almost $900 million in PPP loans.