Vibepay, a peer-to-peer payments app that recently received regulatory approval to operate in the U.K., wants to build a more secure version of popular P2P apps like Venmo and Zelle through additional checks. The app is slated to launch in September.
Unlike popular U.S. peer-to-peer payment apps, Luke Massie, VibePay’s founder, said the company has built safeguards into the transaction flow to avoid the risk of money being sent to the wrong person, as well as fraudsters activating the service without customer consent. “There’s absolutely no way someone could send money to the wrong person,” he claimed. “You can’t steal from the wallet, and you can’t access the wallet from another party. We are a consumer-facing product that fits on top of the banking infrastructure.”
VibePay allows person-to-person payments along with group payments and includes a real-time newsfeed with commentary features. For group payments, an event organizer invites friends and family to a group. As a member, users can plan events like social outings and pay the organizer simultaneously. Massie noted that users can only pay the organizer, and they can only pay once they have accepted the invitation to join the group.
Paym and Square’s Cash app are competitors, along with the peer-to-peer payments capabilities of digital-only banks like Monzo and Starling. Paym, which launched in 2014, has more than 4 million users.
VibePay will differentiate itself through its social features, including a newsfeed allowing groups to plan outings together and associated payments. By allowing users to plan and pay simultaneously, Massie said VibePay has removed the headache of splitting payments for social gatherings. He described VibePay as a combination of WhatsApp and Venmo, with competitors like Paym and Square’s Cash lacking the group chat function.
E-commerce is the inspiration for VibePay’s approach, with six-year-old parent company Vibe Group Holdings originally launching as an online ticket marketplace. According to Massie, the long-term goal is to launch throughout the European Union.
VibePay also plans to move into e-commerce, building on its understanding of where users are spending money, Massie said. “We can go to merchants and say, ‘We already know your customers are purchasing this. Why don’t you start accepting VibePay as a payment method?'” he added.





