Peer-to-peer payments apps are working their way into consumers’ pockets. According to fresh data from mobile analytics platform App Annie, P2P payments apps took four of the top five spots for the fastest-growing fintech apps quarter-over-quarter, when it comes to downloads.
“Consumers are looking to mobile for more than just merchant payments,” Lexi Sydow, senior markets insight manager at App Annie, wrote in the Mobile Minute report. “We’ve seen that payments apps are top of mind for consumers, including peer-to-peer transfer apps Cash App, Venmo and Zelle seeing strong growth in downloads in Q2 2020.”

As consumers avoid cash and practice social distancing during the pandemic, peer-to-peer payments apps are growing in popularity. Square’s Cash App was the fastest-growing fintech app by downloads during the second quarter. PayPal, Venmo and Zelle came in at third through fifth, respectively.
In Square’s second-quarter earnings report last week, the company reported 30 million monthly active Cash App users. The peer-to-peer payments app has transformed into a neobank by adding a bank account and debit cards. Square reported more than $1.7 billion held in Cash App accounts during the earnings report, an 86% quarter-over-quarter increase.
Zelle and Venmo, meanwhile, have seen steady growth this year as well. Last month, Zelle’s network operator Early Warning Services reported Zelle users have sent $133 billion on 519 million transactions so far this year. Users sent $187 billion on 743 million transactions on Zelle all of last year. During PayPal’s second-quarter earnings call, the company reported that Venmo users had sent $37 billion during the quarter. PayPal CEO Daniel Schulman said “150 million to 175 million people” are using either PayPal or Venmo digital wallets.
See also: Finance app use spikes with pandemic
Fresh EBT, an app that manages government benefits, saw the second-highest quarter-over-quarter download growth for fintech apps, according to App Annie. The platform also helps users save money with coupons and find jobs.
App Annie’s mobile analytics platform provides data to assist clients with marketing and growth. Its customers include Coca-Cola, LinkedIn and Pinterest, among others.
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