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Venmo launches credit card

P2P payments giant Venmo has launched its first credit card, which comes with a personalised rewards setup and a built in QR code.

The contactless Visa card, issued by Synchrony, can be managed within the Venmo app, where customer track their spending, which is organised into categories such as groceries, bills, dining and transportation.

Each month, the card gives customers cash back to their Venmo account based on these spending categories: three per cent for the one on which most was spent, two per cent for second, and one per cent for the third.

The card, available in five designs, also has a unique QR code which can be scanned to activate it and by friends to send a payment or split a purchase,

Darrell Esch, SVP, general manager, Venmo, says: "The card gives our customers the same unique Venmo experience they already know and love, in an intuitive, easy-to-use card and rewards program, that's all seamlessly managed and controlled from the Venmo app."

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Editorial | what does this mean?

This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community.

Comments: (2)

A Finextra member 05 October, 2020, 14:32

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I wonder what the business model is behind this new card? If there's no annual fee how can they afford to give a cashback of 3% on their highest category of spending?

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Ketharaman Swaminathan - GTM360 Marketing Solutions - Pune 06 October, 2020, 12:23

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Cashback of 3% is not on *their* but *my* highest spend category. It's possible that my second and third highest spend categories on which I get 2% and 1% cashback respectively turn out to be Venmo's highest MDR category on which it earns >=3%, so there's a source of revenue there. On top of that, there are fees and interest charges plus new sources of revenues like advertising fees off of credit card spends.

Of course, all this is relevant only if Venmo is under any obligation to have a profitable business model in the first place. That's not a given when scores of fintechs - among startups in other industries - enjoy skyhigh valuation despite making paltry revenues and whopping losses.