In view of the growing adoption and expansion of P2P payment services (peer-to-peer, or point to point), the Consumer Reports conducted, for the first time, a test among the main services that are, little by little, revolutionizing the way of receiving and sending money. For the test, the CR analyzed five of them: Apple Pay Cash, Venmo, Zelle, Square Cash and the P2P service of Facebook Messenger to see how they do.
The test aimed to show how these services authenticate payments to prevent fraud and errors, how they protect user data and also how quality of service and customer support, including what are the possible fees for using the service, as well as the disclosure of other essential information for the consumer. In that sense, all five were classified as “good enough” to be used, but Apple Pay Cash was the winner with a higher overall score, mainly due to its privacy and security measures.
According to the CR, Apple Pay Cash was the only service that limited the information collected about user transactions that are shared. In addition, it does not store credit or debit card numbers and, like other services provided by Apple, none of the personal information sold to other companies. Apple Pay just didn't get a good rating on compatibility, as it is limited to Apple devices.
The strength of Apple Pay Cash was, at the same time, the weakness of other services like Venmo, Facebook Messenger and Square Cash. It is true that they were rated above average in most categories, except for privacy. Zelle has already been downgraded due to lack of clarity in its data collection and sharing policies, in addition to failing to offer a way to confirm payments through the smartphone app, which should occur by the end of this year, according to the company.
Unlike Apple Pay, the Apple Pay Cash feature has only been available in the US since it was launched last December and, for now, there is no forecast for when it will be expanded to other countries.
Here, Banco do Brasil is already preparing to join Banco Ita in the list of financial institutions with support for Apple Pay. The service was announced last April in the country.
via AppleInsider
