We're still waiting on Apple Pay's newest feature after IOS 11 update (AAPL)

Although Apple first introduced its new Apple Pay peer-to-peer (P2P) payment feature during the debut of iOS 11 in June, the firstiterationof the update, released this week, doesn't have the payment option, according to TechCrunch.

The new feature, which will allow users to send funds to friends and family via iMessage and Siri, will instead be a part of a future update to iOS 11 that is expected to launch this fall. For Apple, getting this new payment option in the hands of users as soon as possible should be a priority, or it could risk missing out on the returns of a major consumer payment trend.

Mobile P2P payments are becoming a popular method for sending funds.
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By leveraging one of the most popular chat apps in the world, Apple Pay should see more users adopt the payment option.

However, there’s one potential issue that Apple Pay would have to contend with. With the introduction of Apple's new flagship product, the iPhone X, Apple Pay users won't have access to fingerprint authentication; they will instead have to use new facial recognition technology to biometrically authenticate their transactions. This may prove to be a pain point for potential users — according to a Juniper Research survey, 40% of iOS users in the US consider themselves unlikely to use facial recognition as a payment security technology. These users have instead become comfortable with fingerprint authentication — 74% of respondents said they are likely to use the technology. If this new security feature fails to gain any traction, Apple Pay may not see as many gains as expected.

Peer-to-peer payments, defined as informal payments made from one person to another, have long been a prominent feature of the payments industry. That’s because individuals transfer funds to each other on a regular basis, whether it's to make a recurring payment, reimburse a friend, or split a dinner bill.

Over the next few years, though overall P2P spend will remain constant, a shift to mobile payments across the board and increased spending power from the digital-savvy younger generation will cause the mobile P2P industry to skyrocket.

That poses a problem for firms providing these services, though. Historically, most of these players have taken on mobile P2P at a loss because it’s a low-friction way to onboard users and won’t catch on unless it’s free, or largely free, to consumers. But as it becomes more popular and starts to eat into these firms’ traditional streams of revenue, finding ways to monetize is increasingly important.

Jaime Toplin, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile P2P payments that:

You can also purchase and download the full report from our research store.