Not everyone carries cash all the time. Occasionally you may have cash, but not the correct change. Sometimes the other person is far away. What if the amount is more than you feel comfortable carrying with you? All of these scenarios describe a time when being able to pay a person electronically may be useful. In this post you will learn how to use person to person payment methods.
The general way that all of these methods work, is that both people in the transaction create accounts with one of the vendors. A person’s account will be linked to their checking account or to a credit card. When designating a payment between two people, no one sees each other’s banking information. Only the vendor sees that. In some services the payment goes directly into the person’s account. In other services the payment is held in the account with the vendor until you either transfer it, or move it to your bank account or credit card.
Most of these vendors services have a free method, usually when the account is tied to a checking account or debit card. There is usually a fee when tied to a credit card.
The main issue when using these services, is that people on both ends of the transaction have to have accounts on the same service. For this reason, the ones that bubble to the top are Venmo and Zelle, and PayPal for certain types of transfers. Venmo is owned by PayPal, and Zelle is the method of choice for many banks.
Venmo
To learn how to Use Person to Person Payment Methods for Venmo, see our blog post here. The method for other vendors is quite similar.
Zelle
Information about setting up a Zelle account is here and depends on the specific bank. Go directly to the bank’s website to see if they use a service other than Zelle.
PayPal
PayPal is most often used when paying online vendors, but can also be used to pay individuals. There are fees depending on how the account is set up and which of the PayPal methods are used to make the payment, so be sure to understand the differences. Here is a summary of PayPal Fees.
Apple Pay Cash
Many other companies are getting into the person to person payment arena. If both people have iPhones, they can use Apple Pay. Google has a payment method. Even Facebook Messenger has a limited person to person payment method. NerdWallet has a good article explaining some of the differences between these various vendors.
The method that is best for you will depend on a number of factors, including the accounts that you have, the accounts that the other person has and the type of transaction that you wish to make. Please give us a call if you would like to discuss any of these options in more detail.