PayPal announces new mobile peer-to-peer payment platform PayPal.me

PayPal has announced a new mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platform, PayPal.me, which would allow users to create a personalised PayPal link and send it to peers for fast P2P money transfers through the service.

On creation of the link, the user sends it to individuals or groups as a request for funds. After receipt of the link, the value of the transaction is entered and the funds are transferred to the original user's PayPal account.

The service would allow links to be sent through multiple platforms – instant message, social media, e-mail, and more – and would work on both desktop and mobile.

The results of PayPal's newest Money Habits Study substantiated the use case for the new service.

According to the survey findings, small debts between peers added up fast in both amount and in impact, and paying them back was challenging and problematic.

Most people do not like to ask people to pay them back and on average individuals were owed $450 at any given time, and over one-third had lost a friend over an IOU.

There was a demand for more flexible and convenient ways to manage money and 75 per cent of users surveyed felt ''relieved'' at the prospect of using digital P2P to settle small debts.

"Rather than following up individually, you can email your PayPal.Me link to co-workers to chip in for an engagement present for another co-worker," PayPal senior director of Global Consumer Product, Meron Colbeci, said in a blog post. "Or stop asking each of your fellow bridesmaids for bachelorette party payments and just send a group text message with your PayPal.Me link."

The launch comes only weeks after online-bidding site eBay spun off the digital-payment platform. The move, which was widely welcomed by investors, allows PayPal to operate independently of its corporate overlord eBay.

PayPal.Me is available is available across 18 countries, including the US, UK, and Canada.