Guiding Your Wealth in a Digital World

Happy Turkey & Pie Month!  To me, it's a great time of the year to spend with family, enjoy the Ravens (I already miss baseball season), make fires in the fireplace, and find that awesome new tech gadget on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Johanna, ignore this last part). Shopping online provides convenience, more options, easy product comparison, and instant access.  As with most wonderful things, online shopping has a dark side. It started with fake websites, then email scams, add bogus text messages, and now AI and fake storefronts on social media platforms. All are designed to steal your money and credit card information.  Ugh.

This month's newsletter is designed to explain how "peer-to-peer" payments work, their benefits, and their risks as this year's online shopping season moves into full swing. Convenience comes with a cost, but it doesn't mean losing your wallet. Hope to see you the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for the annual pie day (cold Pumpkin for me, please).

Peer-to-Peer Payments: What to Know About Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App

Peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App have become part of everyday life. We use them to split dinner bills, reimburse friends, pay for school activities, or send quick gifts to family members. Their convenience is undeniable — but so are the risks.

Unlike credit cards, P2P transactions are instant, irreversible, and carry almost no fraud protection. Once money leaves your account, it’s essentially gone. This month’s newsletter breaks down how these apps work, where the risks lie, and how to protect yourself as their use continues to grow.

What Are Peer-to-Peer Payments?

Peer-to-peer services let you send money directly from your bank account or card to someone else’s, usually within seconds. They were designed for trusted contacts, not strangers or online sellers.

The most widely used apps include:

• Zelle – Built into many banking apps; transfers move instantly between bank accounts.
• Venmo – Owned by PayPal; funds can sit in a Venmo balance or be transferred to your bank.
• Cash App – Popular but heavily targeted by scammers.

Key takeaway: P2P apps are best used the same way you would use cash, but with people you know personally.

The Big Risk: “Digital Cash”

Many users mistakenly believe that if something goes wrong, the wrong recipient, an accidental tap, a scam, their bank, or the app will refund them. P2P payments are treated as authorized transactions, even if you were tricked. If you send money to a scammer, you may have little to no recourse.

Key takeaway: P2P payments lack the dispute protections built into credit cards and traditional payment systems.

Why More Online Sellers Are Requesting Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App

A growing number of online sellers, for example, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram shops, TikTok Shop, Craigslist, and pop-up boutique websites, now ask buyers to pay through P2P apps.

They prefer these methods because:

• Payments are instant.
• There are no merchant fees.
• Transactions are irreversible. (Good for the seller, risky for you.)
• Scammers know consumers mistakenly assume P2P apps have fraud protection.

Important note: Legitimate online retailers DO NOT use Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or crypto for standard checkout.

Key takeaway: If a website or seller only accepts these methods, it’s almost always a scam. If you wouldn’t hand this person cash in a parking lot, don’t send it through a P2P app.

Best Practices for Using P2P Apps Safely

Use these tools correctly:

• Double-check the recipient before sending.
• Never use P2P apps to pay strangers or online sellers.
• Turn on alerts for every transaction.
• Set Venmo to Private.
• Secure your phone with Face ID/Touch ID.

Key takeaway: Your phone is the gatekeeper — secure the device, and you secure the apps inside it.

Advisor’s Perspective

P2P apps are incredibly useful, but they require good judgment and cautious habits. Think of them as a digital equivalent of cash…convenient but not protected. When clients ask if a payment request is “legit,” the safest answer is usually: If you’re unsure, don’t send it. Using P2P apps correctly can protect not only your money but also your identity and peace of mind.

Final Takeaways for Readers

• Use P2P apps only with trusted contacts.
• Never use them to pay strangers or online sellers.
• Online sellers using only Zelle/Venmo/Cash App are major red flags.
• Once money is sent, it may be unrecoverable. Verify before you tap.