As the popularity and ease of participating in Canada’s second-hand economy via online peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces, like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and Kijiji, has risen, consumer confidence in completing worry-free transactions with in-person meetups has dropped across Ontario. Findings from The Ontario Benchmark Report on Trust in Peer-to-Peer Marketplace Transactions found that three quarters (74 per cent) of Ontarians are uncomfortable when it comes to meeting up in-person to complete transactions and exchange goods.

Issued by portable digital identity platform goConfirm in partnership with Angus Reid, the report released today finds that

• 60 per cent of Ontarians are uncomfortable organizing in-person meetups to exchange goods purchased via online P2P marketplaces as a result of increased news reports on trending scams and frauds across popular platforms.
• Women are more likely to feel uncomfortable (79 per cent) than men are (67 per cent) when it comes to organizing in person meetups to exchange goods purchased via online P2P marketplaces.
• Among those who feel uneasy about completing P2P transactions in-person, verifying the identity of a marketplace seller or buyer was identified as a solution that would make more than three quarters (78 per cent) of respondents feel more comfortable.

Helping consumers bring trust and safety to P2P marketplace interactions is more important than ever with the increase cost of living leading to a booming second hand economy. The report found that 31 per cent of Ontarians have considered using P2P marketplaces specifically because of the rising cost of living.

While communities across Ontario have made efforts to increase safety of completing online transactions in-person, including launching several “buy and sell exchange zones” across the province, it is clear that more is needed to curb increasing consumer discomfort and skepticism.

“The rapid adoption of generative AI has heightened the risks of fraud and safety concerns in all interactions that Canadian consumers face every day,” said Kirk Simpson, Co-Founder and CEO of goConfirm. “At goConfirm, we are committed to using technology to safeguard the personal information of Canadians while bringing safety and piece-of-mind to the online interactions happening daily in our country’s very integral second-hand economy.”

goConfirm is a Toronto-based technology company with a mission to help consumers bring trust and safety to P2P marketplace interactions by allowing for a secure and safe way to exchange verified identity information, which ultimately decreases the risk of fraud, scams and interacting with bad actors.

goConfirm goes beyond the task of verifying identity through government ID. It creates biometrically unique accounts, conducts a liveliness check to combat against bots, analyzes risk signals of potential fraud and uses AI technology to confirm uploaded profile photos match verified government IDs.

Simpson has a track record of success as his former venture, Wave Financial, was acquired by H&R Block for $537M in 2019. With goConfirm, Kirk and his Co-Founder, Peter Carrescia hope to bring trust to digital interactions for all Canadians, starting with goConfirm’s verified identity for P2P marketplaces.

For more on goConfirm, please visit goconfirm.com.

About goConfirm:

goConfirm is on a mission to bring trust to online interactions, everywhere. goConfirm supports people around the world with a secure, portable, reliable way to share and exchange their identity in everything they do online. Knowing who you’re really interacting with plays a crucial role in decreasing the risk of fraud and scams in digital interactions. goConfirm was founded in 2022 by Kirk Simpson and Peter Carrescia and headquartered in Toronto, Canada. To learn more about how goConfirm is reshaping online trust and safety, visit goconfirm.com.

Methodology:

These are the findings of a survey conducted by goConfirm from February 8th to 12th, 2024 among a representative sample of 804 online Ontario residents, who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.