Venmo Extends Credit Card to All 65 Million Users

The QR code-enabled card was launched in October 2020

Need to Know

  • Venmo’s credit card, which launched in October 2020 to select customers, is now available to all users of the payments service.
  • The Venmo Credit Card is powered by Visa and can be used anywhere Visa is accepted.
  • The QR code-enabled card can be scanned by a mobile device to activate the physical card and scanned by other Venmo users to facilitate payments or split purchases.
  • Users can earn between 1-3% cash back on purchases, which is automatically added to their Venmo account.

Analysis

The Venmo Credit Card is now available to all users of the popular payments app, after a soft launch that saw the card offered only to select customers.

Venmo’s Visa-powered credit card can be used anywhere Visa is accepted and is equipped with a unique QR code, which can be scanned with the cardholder’s mobile device for activation. In addition, the QR code can be scanned by other Venmo users, to facilitate payments or split purchases, a feature that is well-tailored to COVID-19 spending patterns, which have seen individuals living in the same home looking for new, contactless ways to split household purchases, such as groceries.

Venmo Credit Card activity is tracked within the Venmo app in real-time, showing a spending breakdown that is organized by category and split into intervals of 30, 60, or 90 days, allowing users to better understand their spending patterns, schedule payments, and budget.

In addition, the Venmo Credit Card offers cardholders the ability to make between 1-3% cash back on purchases: 3% on eligible “top spend” items, 2% on the second-highest, and 1% on all other purchases. Cash back is automatically deposited into the cardholder’s Venmo account, where it can be used to make purchases or payments or to transfer funds to a linked bank account. Individuals who are interested in applying for the card can do so now using the Venmo app.

Venmo, which launched its credit card in October 2020, currently has 65 million total users, and hit $44 billion in payments in Q3 of last year, in a historic quarter that saw PayPal report a record-breaking 61% increase in transactions. Venmo has launched a number of COVID-19-specific updates of late, including a cash-a-check feature for users, allowing them to access funds from paper checks within minutes—including stimulus checks, for which Venmo waived its processing fees for a limited time. CVS, the major US pharmacy chain, also named Venmo and PayPal partners in its QR code-enabled contactless payment launch, which it announced in October.