In many countries, the last ten years have seen a decisive shift from cash to digital payments. During the coronavirus crisis, many governments and retailers have actively discouraged using cash; if some form of digital payment, ideally contactless, could be used instead, the move away from cash has accelerated.
In many markets, increased use of digital payments has also been assisted by a growth in the number ofdigital paymentmethods available. These include peer-to-peer (P2P) payment tools, for transferring cash between individuals; some of which can be used through social media platforms as P2P social payments.
Volumes and transaction values of such P2P social payments are growing, in part because the use of social media also continues to increase. By July 2020, 3.96 billion people – approximately half the world’s population – were active users of social media, according to figures from Datareportal. The statistics are mind-boggling: in July 2020, Facebook had 2.6 billion users; WhatsApp 2 billion; Facebook Messenger 1.3 billion; and Instagram just over 1 billion. Hundreds of millions of people use several other platforms, including Twitter, Tiktok and Sina Weibo. The vast majority of social media users (about4.33 billion) use smartphones to access these platforms.
In that context, it is unsurprising that fintech firms, banks and social media platforms have all developed P2P social payment tools. These services must offer both convenience andsecurityif they are to succeed, but in societies where smartphone use and digital payments have become the norm, there is enormous potential for further growth in the use of these services.
简单，方便和免费
The first digital P2P cash transfer service was offered by PayPal almost 20 years ago as a way for consumers to pay for eBay purchases. At the time, many people were still nervous about using credit cards online, while many eBay sellers lacked either the need or the means to set up a merchant account with a credit card company.
当个人希望彼此转移少量金额时，P2P社会支付服务更新的最近可以用于多个日常目的，而且可能特别有用：例如，当在餐厅分割账单时，可能会特别有用。他们也可以为消费者免费提供（尽管所有的服务都免费提供），因为社交媒体平台通过广告推出了大量收入。P2P社会支付服务更新的最近可以用于多个日常用途，但是是当个人希望彼此转移少量金额时，或许特别有用：例如，在餐厅分割账单时。他们也可以免费向消费者提供（尽管所有服务都免费提供），因为社交媒体平台通过广告获得了如此多的收入。
好吧,established P2P services include Venmo, in the US, which PayPal owns. Users can sign up for the service via Facebook, through which they can also transfer money to other Facebook users. They can find non-Facebook users by searching for their Venmo user name or phone number.
Venmo users access a newsfeed-like interface through the app, which shows their recent transactions. Some of these details are also shared with friends in their Venmo network unless users ask for this information to be kept private; the联邦贸易委员会（FTC）过去遭到谴责的venmo，以揭示太多的最终用户个人信息。Venmo于2019年底，留在5200万处活动账户，processed more than $102 billionduring the year.
另一种基于美国的P2P服务，Zelle由一组主要的美国银行所有，并可通过其现有银行应用程序的许多美国银行和信贷工会的客户使用，用于货币转移。如果潜在的收件人的银行不适用于Zelle，他们仍然可以通过下载Zelle App并提供手机号码和电子邮件地址来使用该服务。一些美国银行现在也允许小企业通过Zelle接受付款。有5.19亿交易made using the service during the first half of 2020. Elsewhere, Facebook has struggled against regulatory and technical problems but (at the time of writing) looks likely to launch WhatsApp Pay in both Brazil and India shortly.
But perhaps the most exciting example of a P2P social payment service that could be used in multiple jurisdictions in future is Facebook Pay, already available in the US. Users input account or card details once they can use the service to make payments to businesses, donate to charities, and make P2P transfers. They can access the service from Facebook, Messenger, Instagram or WhatsApp accounts.
This is Facebook’s second attempt to launch an effective social P2P payments service: a previous system based on Messenger was closed in the UK and France in 2019 after failing to attract many users. It will be fascinating to see how quickly Facebook rolls this service out to other countries. Facebook’s broader business model’s success means it does not currently need a money transfer/ P2P payments service to bring in any revenue: during 2019,revenue from advertising was $69.6 billion, an increase of 27% compared to 2018.
Risk management and mitigation
P2P payments via social media are inevitably subject to security risks, including the exposure of consumers’ bank account, credit or debit card information. If security measures prove inadequate and consumers’ accounts are hacked, there may be no adequate insurance coverage for losses incurred. Service subject to high levels of fraud also poses significant financial, regulatory and reputational risks tofinancial servicescompanies, fintech, social media platforms and other stakeholders.
These companies are fully aware of the danger posed by these continuously evolving risks. Security measures are taken to address them include more widespread use of two-factor authentication in various forms, including biometrics, OTP codes and secondary security devices to authenticate end-user identity, plus transaction monitoring or device use analysis processes that can identify suspicious activity.
但个人消费者也必须对确保交易安全承担一些责任。他们应该鼓励他们密切关注服务提供商有关使用安全提供服务的建议，使用强密码，以交易之后的网站注销网站，最重要的是，只需仔细检查以确保资金被移入正确的银行账户。符合欧盟内部欧盟支付服务指令（PSD2）在内的所有相关的监管和立法要求，通过开放银行倡议提供准则，以及在特定的司法管辖区内适用的相关数据保护，提供欧盟支付服务指令（PSD2），包括欧盟支付服务指令（PSD2）。。此类法规受到变化，似乎将来会将未来收紧，因为使用数字付款，一般来说，继续增长。
P2P社会支付的承诺
随着实施充足的安全措施，可以安全地进行P2P社会支付。越来越多的消费者将容易方便地发现这些服务，他们也可以帮助一些人们在当前的银行系统提供不良服务，例如unbanked，他们可能没有银行账户，但可能有社交媒体账户和智能手机。
这种支付形式的演变是消费者付款方式更广泛变化的一部分。这些变化将造成重大的财务和经济干扰，同时提出了关于消费者和企业如何与社交媒体互动的重要问题以及这些互动产生的数据。
但是，如果采取合适的措施确保使用这些工具是安全的，那么企业可以与他们的客户，投资者和提供这些服务的国家的经济一起使用，所有这些都会受益。如果他们尚未这样做，企业和其他组织将明智地关注P2P社会支付中随后的开发阶段。
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