Consumers Know About P2P Payments, Wary of Using Them

Although person-to-person payments are not yet widely available, U.S. consumers get the concept of them, a survey released at this week's NACHA show and sponsored by NACHA, eCom Advisors, FIS and PayPal found.In the survey of 1,180 active online banking users, 66% said they are aware that it's possible to send a P2P payment to an individual using a computer; 26% said they know it's possible to send a P2P payment via mobile phone. Almost all (93%) recognized the PayPal brand name (one of the leading P2P payment providers along with Western Union and MoneyGram).

But asked if they would actually use P2P, consumers were cautious. Only 16% said they would use it to purchase items at a garage sale or flea market, 18% said they'd use it to pay a babysitter or other household help, 19% said they'd use it to split a mortgage or rent payment with a roommate or partner, 31% said they'd use it to send money out of the country, 33% said they'd use it to send money to a son or daughter to college.

However, when the researchers removed the group of people who responded "does not apply to me" to the above scenarios, the numbers shot up to: 51% for sending money to a son or daughter in college, 41% for sending money out of the country, 28% for splitting the mortgage or rend, 23% for paying an in-home worker, and 19% for buying items at a garage sale or flea market.