The news: Cash App launched payment links to request P2P payments, per a press release.

Cash App users can enter in the amount they wish to send or receive to a peer within Cash App. Instead of requesting a recipient within the app, users can now send a link through text, email, messaging app, or social media app.

Why this matters: Pushing requests for payment into users’ social and messaging accounts mimics Gen Z communication patterns around P2P payments—53% of the cohort send a reminder text before requesting payment, and 49% send follow-ups texts, per a Cash App survey. 

This update also incorporates the social element of P2P payments, which tend to reflect intimate connections between people like roommates, siblings, friends, and partners, and blunts the awkwardness of a standalone push notification for money.

Cash App’s announcement follows similar competitor strategies: PayPal launched PayPal links last September, following a similar conceit. Venmo and Zelle also let users share QR codes by text, email, and other social and messaging apps. 

Implications for P2P payment providers: We forecast that by 2029, Gen Zers will be mobile P2P payment apps’ main user demographic, with 61.9 million adults born between the year 1997 and 2012 estimated to use those applications. 

P2P apps should consider molding more of their payment notifications and requests around Gen Z generational behavior, increasing compatibility with the digital platforms where this generation lives online.

Voice notes are especially popular with Gen Zers, with 43% of 18 to 29 year olds using the feature at least weekly, per a YouGov survey conducted by Vox. Baking in audio notes for payment requests and thank you from recipients could be a way to break through to this demo.