P2P: Made Possible by Technology, Powered by Trust

You may be hearing a lot about P2P in 2021. That would not be surprising.

Interest in P2P payments had already been growing in recent years – and changes in consumer behavior brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have given it a boost.

Person-to-person. Peer-to-peer. P2P. All different ways to describe online technologies that essentially allow consumers to transfer funds from their financial institution account to another individual's account via the Internet or a smartphone app.

But techy definitions aside, many consumers simply define P2P as: convenience.

With P2P, consumers – including a growing number of credit union members – can avoid digging for cash and skip check writing. They can simply transfer money from their account to a friend, sister, uncle or neighbor with a few taps on their smartphone.  

Since the beginning of the COVID crisis, consumers’ lives have been impacted on many levels – including spending and shopping behavior. Consumers are shopping more frequently online with an emphasis on home delivery. Contactless is in.

The number of mobile payment users in the U.S. was expected to reach 73 million in 2020, with total transaction dollars approaching $400 billion, according to online payment data provided by eMarketer.com.

What started out a millennial-friendly payment method is now spreading among older generations. And once consumers try it, they are more likely to keep using it because they find it really meets a need in their lives. It is simple to send and receive money in a fully contactless way.

But while technology makes P2P possible, trust powers it.

P2P is principally used to transfer money between two people close enough to trust each other. It is not yet a common solution for buying movie tickets online.

Similarly, the trust that makes it a solution for transacting between friends could help break down reluctance holding back newcomers. While P2P came to the marketplace on the shoulders of fintech, future adoption may be made easier with financial institutions providing a trusted alternative.

A P2P app can feel trustworthy when it’s tied to the consumer’s financial institution, which they already trust.

Trust is key in any relationship – especially one between consumers and their financial institutions. For credit unions, this has not been much of a problem. According to the 2016 Temkin Trust Ratings, credit unions earned a trust rating of 70 percent – outpacing Nordstrom, Amazon and Apple.

Furthermore, Filene Research Institute studies have indicated that technology adoption and use is deeply shaped by the trust consumers have in their financial services providers. Filene Research states simply: as credit unions approach new digital services, they should lead with trust.

Trust can also equal “sticky.” A familiar and accessible P2P app available through a credit union gives members another reason to do business where they belong.  

Credit unions are already leaning into P2P.

A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston points out that 67 percent of banks surveyed offer mobile P2P payment services, a 13 percent increase from 2016. Of those banks that don’t, 26 percent of banks planned to offer mobile P2P payments by 2021. Meanwhile, 39 percent of credit unions surveyed already offer P2P services, and nearly 30 percent of those that don’t say they will begin offering it in 2021.

So if the buzz surrounding P2P has caught your credit union’s attention, you should know that Catalyst Corporate has created a path to help get you started. Working with Aptys Solutions, Catalyst Corporate can now provide a P2P solution for credit unions.

The P2P solution, known as PayMōli, is already being used by credit unions across the country. It is secure, easy to integrate into your current suite of services and, most importantly, it is affordable. For more information about PayMōli, email: contactus@catalystcorp.org

As Catalyst Corporate’s Vice President of Sales, Karen Coble directs the sales and training processes for correspondent, payment and technology services. With more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, she takes pride in helping credit unions transition to services that add value to their operations.