How a P2P deal works
Four steps, and the third is where everything depends.
A seller posts an offer with a rate, a payment method and limits. A buyer takes it, and the platform immediately moves the seller’s crypto into escrow. The buyer sends the local currency directly to the seller by bank transfer, card or cash. The seller confirms receipt, and escrow releases the coins.
Escrow is what makes the model work at all. Without it, one side always has to go first and trust the other.
Why P2P exists
Two reasons, and both are about access rather than price.
In many countries an exchange cannot connect to the banking system, so buying crypto with a card is unavailable. P2P routes around that: the money moves between two ordinary bank accounts, and the platform never touches local currency.
The second reason is the payment methods. A P2P marketplace supports whatever its users support, which is usually far more than any exchange integrates directly.
Where the risks sit
The escrow protects the crypto. It does nothing for the money going the other way.
Receiving funds you did not want
A seller who accepts a bank transfer has no control over where that money came from. If it turns out to be proceeds of fraud, the receiving account can be frozen while a bank or a payment service investigates.
Chargeback on the fiat leg
A buyer who pays by card can dispute the payment after the crypto has been released. Escrow cannot claw it back.
Disputes
When one side claims payment was sent and the other says it was not, the platform arbitrates on whatever evidence exists.
Why a business needs a different tool
P2P works for an individual buying coins. As a way to accept customer payments it breaks quickly, and for reasons that have nothing to do with the technology.
It does not scale: every order needs a counterparty, a rate agreed and a manual confirmation. It leaves no clean audit trail, because money arrives to a personal account from strangers. It carries the freeze risk above on every single transaction. And it gives the customer a worse experience than a checkout button.
A payment gateway solves the same problem differently: a fresh address per order, automatic confirmation, settlement to the business, and an accounting record for each payment.