[1] Since this concept's inception, many business entities have developed P2P transaction capabilities, increasing the competition in the space and the convenience brought to the consumer.
The payment system initially served to assist both eCommerce businesses and individuals, reaching massive scale following PayPal's acquisition by online retailer eBay in 2002.
[2][8] Because of the ease of use and accessibility of large sums of money straight from individual's bank accounts, security measures have been put in place to minimize theft.
For example, Venmo's platform makes it look as though a payment is registered and complete immediately when the button is clicked, but the actual transaction does not process for a couple of days.
[3][7] Although typical fail-safes come into play for worst-case scenarios, such as the $3,000 limit per week on Venmo transactions, financial institutions themselves may notify their customers of theft and fraud.
[citation needed] P2P payment applications, as third party intermediaries, typically deflect responsibility to the banks and financial institutions who actually hold and process the user's transactions and funds.