Privacy and peer-to-peer payment apps

Apps for our smartphones are ubiquitous. Free apps usually require exchanging personal information. Mobile payments in the U.S. are expected to almost double by 2027. Peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps are a subcategory of said apps. Venmo is a P2P payment app that gathers user data from their smartphone and publicizes user transactions. A between-subject survey shows respondents are concerned about privacy with P2P payment apps, even when only describing what the app does. Clusters are identified when examining involvement with P2P payment apps. The covariate online privacy was statistically significant; however, age, gender, and social media use were not statistically significant. Two-thirds of respondents displayed the privacy paradox (e.g., valuing privacy but actions are incongruent). Privacy is important, but they are willing to exchange it for the usefulness of a smartphone app.