After the coronavirus pandemic forced issuers to adapt rewards, enhance forbearance, and build out digital tools to cope with a volume hit in 2020, they’re looking to reimagine their offerings in the future to add new customers and regain primary card status.

US consumers want Venmo to offer rewards

During the coronavirus pandemic, many consumers have preferred to pay local businesses using traditional payment methods over contactless channels. According to May 2020 polling from Podium, the highest share of US internet users surveyed (42.9%) said they preferred using a credit card reader, with cash coming in second at 18.4%.

Our first forecast for peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payments users in Canada shows a still-developing market with plenty of room to grow. This year, 19.7% of the country's population (or 6.0 million people) will be P2P mobile payment users. But that significantly trails the US market, where 30.6% of the population uses P2P payments.

eMarketer junior forecasting analyst Brian Lau shares our estimates for peer-to-peer mobile transactions and usage in the US, as well as why apps like Venmo and Zelle are strong market players.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments are increasing significantly in the US, driven by tremendous growth from Venmo and Zelle. eMarketer’s latest estimates show that P2P mobile transactions will total $309.95 billion this year, growing 27.9% to hit $396.48 billion in 2020.

Mobile payments—both proximity payments and P2P transfers—continue to grow rapidly in volume. User growth is slowing, and increased spending will primarily come from existing users spending more often via mobile phones.

Mobile payments have been thought to be on the cusp of widespread adoption for several years now. But most consumers have responded to the technology with a noncommittal shrug.

This year, there will be 82.5 million mobile phone P2P payment users in the US, according to eMarketer estimates.

Personalized messages, geolocated notifications, loyalty programs—all are available via mobile passes in wallets.

Adoption of proximity mobile payments in the US continues to grow, but at an increasingly tepid pace. They’ve yet to unseat credit cards as the payment option of choice. Meanwhile, peer-to-peer (P2P) payment adoption is driven by platforms like Venmo and Zelle.