Apple still working on P2P payment transfer service to compete with Venmo

Posted:
in iPhone edited April 2017
Apple is said to be working on its own peer-to-peer money transfer service, potentially under the secure Apple Pay umbrella, allowing users to quickly and securely send money to one another, much like Venmo and Square Cash.




Apple has reportedly held discussions with the payment industry about the potential service, which could launch as soon as this year, according to Re/code. As with Venmo and others, the service would let iPhone owners transfer money digitally to others.

In addition, it was also said that Apple has held talks with Visa about a pre-paid debit card service tied to the peer-to-peer payment transfers. The talks could lead to an Apple-branded digital debit card that would also be capable of spending money at retailers -- allowing users to spend money transferred to them instantly, without the need for the funds to settle in a bank account.




Rumors of an Apple P2P transfer service are not new, dating back to the launch of Apple Pay. Talks with banks date back years, but nothing has come to pass as of yet.

It is expected that Apple would lose money on such a service, as other products available do not turn a profit. Financial institutions view such services as an opportunity to establish relationships with millennials, who are less likely to have a bank account or credit cards.

If it does enter the market, Apple will face stiff competition. Apart from PayPal and its Venmo subsidiary, which control much of the mobile payment space, companies like Square and even Facebook have entered into the arena.
sockrolid

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    It would be trivially easy for Apple to implementment a completely secure "digital cash" solution. It's just a matter of them developing the will to do it and committing resources.
    sockrolid
  • Reply 2 of 13
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    This would be great and it's a service I would definitely use (assuming there are no fees).  While my bank's electronic payment system is fine for payments to businesses and utilities, it sucks for personal payments, especially when the other person doesn't bank with my bank.   It's definitely NOT like that TV commercial where the parents instantaneously send the baby sitter an extra tip, although it should be that easy.   The devil is in the details though, although I'm sure Apple will get the UI right.  

    Not interested in a pre-paid debit card though, but that's just me. 
    mike1
  • Reply 3 of 13
    Just in time (maybe) for my daughter going to college and needing a debit card.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    sog35 said:
    This is a GREAT service.

    Now Apple should buy Shopify and they would dominate eCommerce with SMB and personal.
    Make it cross platform too?
  • Reply 5 of 13
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member

    zoetmb said:
    This would be great and it's a service I would definitely use (assuming there are no fees).  While my bank's electronic payment system is fine for payments to businesses and utilities, it sucks for personal payments, especially when the other person doesn't bank with my bank.   It's definitely NOT like that TV commercial where the parents instantaneously send the baby sitter an extra tip, although it should be that easy.   The devil is in the details though, although I'm sure Apple will get the UI right.  

    Not interested in a pre-paid debit card though, but that's just me. 
    Would be awesome to send other iOS users money via iMessage. I'd use that all the time.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    1) From the aspects of being baked into the OS and accessing the Secure Element and the trust Apple has built up would get me to use it over other options.

    2) I hope this comes to pass, as well as an increase in Apple Pay for web payments. Months ago I canceled my PayPal account l, which really isn't an issue since you can still make a standalone payment through PayPal if the website uses PayPal, but I'd rather not use the card number printed on the CC.
  • Reply 7 of 13
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member

    zoetmb said:
    This would be great and it's a service I would definitely use (assuming there are no fees).  While my bank's electronic payment system is fine for payments to businesses and utilities, it sucks for personal payments, especially when the other person doesn't bank with my bank.   It's definitely NOT like that TV commercial where the parents instantaneously send the baby sitter an extra tip, although it should be that easy.   The devil is in the details though, although I'm sure Apple will get the UI right.  

    Not interested in a pre-paid debit card though, but that's just me. 
    Would be awesome to send other iOS users money via iMessage. I'd use that all the time.
    You can do that now. Circle is a great service for that.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    Yeah, this would be pretty big. I can imagine lots of scenarios where this would be super useful. Especially because of the ubiquity that Apple brings to a solution. It could really accelerate our progress towards a cash-less world. I also wonder if it's the thin edge of the wedge for Apple getting into finance and general banking. They've got way more money than even the big banks. They could totally do it. And they could totally disrupt the personal banking industry, which is currently a mess and a terrible user experience.
    sockrolid
  • Reply 9 of 13
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,286member
    zoetmb said:
    This would be great and it's a service I would definitely use (assuming there are no fees).  While my bank's electronic payment system is fine for payments to businesses and utilities, it sucks for personal payments, especially when the other person doesn't bank with my bank.   It's definitely NOT like that TV commercial where the parents instantaneously send the baby sitter an extra tip, although it should be that easy.   The devil is in the details though, although I'm sure Apple will get the UI right.  

    Not interested in a pre-paid debit card though, but that's just me. 
    Agreed. If it was easier for me to use Chase's Quick Pay to with non-Chase customers, it would be perfect. Would welcome an Apple Pay approach through iMessage as long as they can figure out a way to EASILY and CONVENIENTLY perform transactions with non-Apple phones. You can't expect people to maintain multiple payment apps/accounts depending on who they need to transfer money to.
    gatorguy
  • Reply 10 of 13
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    Have only used Venmo once.
    Looking forward to deleting that app if/when Apple rolls out their P2P service.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    sog35 said:
    This is a GREAT service.

    Now Apple should buy Shopify and they would dominate eCommerce with SMB and personal.
    Since this is an Apple site, it should more or less be assumed that many here are Apple investors. But every post of yours shilling for Apple to buy Shopify should include the disclaimer, "Full disclosure:  I am a Shopify investor."


    edited April 2017
  • Reply 12 of 13
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    sog35 said:
    This is a GREAT service.

    Now Apple should buy Shopify and they would dominate eCommerce with SMB and personal.
    Since this is an Apple site, it should more or less be assumed that many here are Apple investors. But every post of yours shilling for Apple to buy Shopify should include the disclaimer, "Full disclosure:  I am a Shopify investor."
    The disclosure should also say "...I know very little about business..."
    SpamSandwich
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