Slippage is the gap between the price you saw on screen and the price you actually got. P2P has its own slippage modes — different from order-book trading but just as costly.
Sources of P2P slippage
Ad updates between view and click: a merchant pulls or re-prices the ad in the 5 seconds you spent reviewing it. You click, get an error or a higher price.
Depth-induced slippage: your trade is bigger than the top ad's available, you fill against multiple ads at progressively worse prices.
Market-move slippage: USDT/INR moves 0.3% during your 90-second trade execution. Most merchants will honour the original price but some will push for a re-trade at the new rate.
How to minimise slippage
Click fast on the best ad. Don't deliberate.
For larger trades, watch the cumulative depth and pick a single big-ad merchant rather than chaining 5 small ones.
Avoid trading during ultra-fast market moves (immediately after an INR-USD news catalyst).
Key takeaways
- P2P slippage = ad changes, multi-ad fills, market moves during execution.
- Click fast; don't shop the same ad for minutes.
- Prefer single big-ad merchants for size.
- Avoid trading during fast market moves.
