Peer-to-peer payments.
In plain English
Peer-to-peer payments, often called P2P, are transfers of money from one person directly to another using an app or service linked to a bank account, debit card, or balance. Common examples include Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App. The money usually moves within seconds or minutes, which is convenient but also means a payment sent to the wrong person can be very hard to reverse. P2P is built for paying people you know and trust, not for buying from strangers.
01Why it matters
P2P is fast and final, so a typo in a username or phone number can send your money to a stranger with little chance of getting it back.
02The math, step by step
You owe a roommate $60 for the electric bill. You open a P2P app, type their username, and send $60. It lands in their balance almost instantly. If you had fat-fingered one digit of the phone number, that $60 could have gone to a stranger instead, and the app's own rules treat that as an authorized payment you sent on purpose.
03What this is NOT
A P2P payment is not a credit card purchase. Credit cards come with strong dispute and chargeback rights when something goes wrong. A P2P transfer you authorized has far weaker protections, which is why it is risky to use with people or sellers you do not know.
04Receipts
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Plain-English answers from our glossary. Receipts included. Never advice.
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