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.