So we all know that younger millennials are rabid users of P2P apps. Mercator Advisory Group survey data shows a surprising number of millennials use a P2P payments nearly every day. As P2P moves mainstream, more consumer from older age groups are becoming frequent users as well. Where all age groups may be using P2P, their motivations may be different, which plays into how providers may want to think about promoting the product to more users. eMarketer provides some more detail on the topic in a recently released report with data from Early Warning, the provider of bank-based P2P product Zelle:
While mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps may have first found popularity with millennials as a way to split joint utility bills and bar tabs, adoption has also spread to older generations.
According to an April survey of over 9,000 US internet users by Early Warning Services, the owner of P2P service Zelle, some 75% of millennials and 69% of Gen Xers use a P2P method to send or receive money from businesses, family or friends.
Surprisingly, baby boomers are not all that far behind, with about half saying they use a P2P payment method.
The survey asked consumers what influenced them to try P2P payments. For millennials and Gen Xers, recommendations from family and friends were the highest driver of use.
Older users, though, said they were more likely to try a P2P if the service was offered by a financial institution that they already used. Some 70% of boomers said this was a key driver, compared with just 35% of millennials.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group