Peer to Peer Payment Apps: Process & Challenges

The technology advancements in the financial sector seem to be putting cash to the side. The growing popularity of peer-to-peer payments in recent years only adds to this trend.

According to eMarketer, there are 148.8 million P2P mobile payment users in the US, almost 62% of the total smartphone users. The peer-to-peer payment sector will continue to grow, and in 2026 more than 180 million people will conduct P2P transactions.

In this context, we cannot fail to mention the total value of such transactions. eMarketer predicts that in 2022 the total amount of P2P payments will pass the $550 billion mark. In 2023, it will show a 10.5% increase, reaching about $612 billion.

As you can see from these statistics, the P2P payments market is steadily expanding. So if your plans include developing an application for peer-to-peer payments, you have every chance of achieving prosperity.

Arounda has prepared a detailed guide for building P2P payment apps for you. We’ll tell you about the main features you need to include in this application and review the main development stages.

As an illustration, we will provide you with our project Dojimatech, a multi-currency bank account for international commerce. We created branding and UI/UX for this platform. Our team has applied best design practices to set this product apart from others on the market. 

But let’s first start with P2P payment apps.

What Are Peer-to-Peer Payment Apps?

To understand P2P payment apps, you should first learn what peer-to-peer payments mean. These are electronic transactions where funds are transferred directly from one account to another. Accordingly, certain online platforms or applications are required to make such payments.

If you are familiar with the expression “I’ll Venmo you,” you have already encountered P2P payment applications in your everyday life. If not, we will explain everything to you now. So, these are platforms like Venmo or PayPal. How do they work?

To start making peer-to-peer transfers, you’ll need to create an account in the app and link your credit card or bank account to it. You can send money to other people using their email, phone number, or username.

The main advantage of peer-to-peer payment apps is the relatively low fees because you make transfers without intermediaries. P2P transfers are not limited to sending money to your friends. With such applications, you can pay for services, make online purchases, transfer abroad, and more.

Fundamental Features of P2P Payment Apps

You have complete freedom in choosing features for your P2P FinTech app. Yet, some functionality is mandatory for such applications. Here are all the must-have features:

Digital Wallet

Of course, an online payments app requires a digital wallet. There your users will store their funds and make transactions. Make sure to integrate several payment gateways and payment systems like Visa and Mastercard.

Send and Request Money

This feature is directly responsible for transfers in your app. Also, add an option to request money from other users.

Send Invoices and Bills

Your application won’t be complete if it lacks the function of generating and sending invoices. It is also a good idea to be able to send bills.

Transfer to a Bank Account

This feature gives more freedom to your users in payment methods. Let your app’s customers not only be able to transfer money from one card to another but also to a bank account.

Currency Conversion

People often use P2P payment apps for cross-border transfers. So here, it would help if you thought about adding a currency conversion feature. With it, your application automatically synchronizes with the exchange rate at the time of the user’s transaction.

Transaction History

This feature will allow users to monitor the funds they receive and send and track their expenses. It would be good if your app kept the transaction information as long as possible. Viewing or printing transaction statements for the month/year is also a useful feature.

Security

Security is of utmost importance when discussing any financial app, including the one for P2P payments. To make your application secure, you can implement the features of one-time passwords or IDs, two-factor authentication, and face or touch ID.

Push Notifications

Such notifications will pop up on your users’ screens as soon as there is some activity in the application: for example, crediting funds. This feature will also be helpful for you as you can send notifications about available promotions, offers, or updates in your app.

Customer Support Chat

Please do not neglect this feature for your financial app because instant problem solving for your users equals increasing their level of trust and loyalty to your application.

These were just fundamental features for your peer-to-peer payment app. Advanced functionality may include gamification, the ability to pay with cryptocurrencies, or a wealth management option. You can increase the number of your app’s features according to your needs and your audience’s requirements.

Arounda’s Experience in Working on P2P Apps

We are a team with extensive experience in the FinTech industry. First of all, we specialize in providing advanced Product Design.

The P2P application design process in Arounda is as follows:

1. Discovery. Here our team works on the idea of ​​your financial application and creates a roadmap.

2. User experience design. We carefully consider the user path in your app and decide what elements your product will include.

3. User interface design. First, we create mood boards for your application and then make these ideas a reality.

4. Support. We pass the finished UI/UX to our developers and monitor its proper implementation.

It doesn’t matter if you want to create an Android or iOS mobile app; our development team can do it for you. Our expertise extends to building P2P web platforms as well.

Here’s our case study on peer-to-peer platform creation.

Dojimatech

Dojimatech is a neobank platform for international commerce. It is designed for small and medium businesses and offers the opportunity for multicurrency payments. Our team worked on this web application’s branding and UI/UX to make the transaction process easier, faster, and cheaper.

First of all, we conducted a study of user experience. It was necessary to increase the convenience and clarity of the platform. Our team used a usability testing method to analyze UX.

We then examined Dojimatech’s competitors. We looked at which design solutions and features are the most relevant and implemented all best in this online payments web platform.

After agreeing on all matters with the client, we delivered high-quality UI/UX design and created an effective branding strategy.

How to Develop the Peer-to-Peer Application?

Knowing the main features of P2P apps, you can move on to the next step: developing such a product. To do this, you will need to go through several stages. Which ones exactly? Let’s figure them out.

1. Choose Peer-to-Peer Application Type

P2P payment apps are divided into several types. Here are two main ones:

-Bank-based apps. These are P2P applications in which the bank acts as a payment processor.

-Standalone apps. These are apps like Venmo or Paypal that work without intermediaries.

2. Decide on Your Project Scope

Decide what you want to create: cross-platform, iOS, Android mobile app, or a web-based solution. In this step, you also need to think about the features that your P2P platform will include.

 3. Choose a Tech Stack

At this stage, you should choose a programming language for frontend, backend, or mobile development; decide on the frameworks, database technologies, etc.

4. Consider Security

Security is crucial for your electronic cash app. So in this stage, consider what measures you can take to secure your product and transactions.

5. Provide Regulatory Compliance

To release the P2P payment app, you must comply with your country’s or region’s legal requirements. Be sure to consider this when developing your product.

6. Work on UI/UX

At this point, your designers need to create a user-friendly interface and provide a clear user experience for your application.

7. Develop the P2P Payment App

Once the P2P payment mobile app design is ready, your developers can engage in the backend, database, and mobile development.

8. Test Your App

Once the application is complete, you need to test it. Your QA specialists will look for bugs and other issues to fix before your product can hit the market.

9. Provide Ongoing Support

Once your product is launched, it will likely need to be improved. You can add new features, improve existing ones, and more.

Final Thoughts

Given the high popularity of peer-to-peer payments, creating a P2P payment app is a promising idea these days. Yet, building such a platform requires much attention, time, and effort. Here you must take care of regulatory compliance and your app’s security. It’s not even mentioning UI/UX and development.

If you are looking for those who will create a peer-to-peer payment application for you, let us give you a hint. Arounda can handle your P2P payment mobile app design and development. You can be sure of high-quality delivery, relying on our extensive FinTech experience.

So feel free to contact our team right away!