Person-to-person transactions are among the fastest-growing payment types in the U.S. A relatively recent creation, P2P products have seen explosive growth in the last decade, propped up by widespread access to smartphones, the adoption of P2P solutions by financial institutions (FIs), and higher levels of consumer confidence in digital transactions than ever before. Consumers value the speed and convenience of P2P, while concerns around the safety of online transactions have subsided and fees for peer-to-peer transfers have largely been eliminated

While adoption began slowly, recent years have seen truly remarkable growth in both the number and volume of person-to-person transactions, and the shift towards P2P is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This viewpoint reviews the history of the U.S. market, examines the implications of the rise for other payment types, and offers projections for the future.