Venmo, the popular digital payment app owned by PayPal, has launched its own physical credit card.
Issued by Synchrony Bank and powered by Visa, the no-fee card is available in five vibrant designs.
It comes with a unique QR code on the front and an RFID-enabled chip, so customers can tap to pay for a contact-free transaction.
A personalized cash-back program automatically rewards users in their most popular spending categories.
Applications for the Venmo credit card are now available for a limited number of users who have had an account for at least 30 days and have been active in the past 12 months.
A QR code on the face can be scanned via your phone’s camera to activate the card, or by friends in the Venmo app to send a payment or split purchases.
Customers earn cash from what they spend the most on – up to three percent in their top spending category, up to two percent on the second highest, and up to one percent back on all other purchases.
The eight spending categories are grocery, dining and nightlife, travel, gas, transportation, bills and utilities, health and beauty, and entertainment
Top categories change based on your monthly habits and funds are automatically added to your Venmo account, where they can be used to make a new purchase, repay someone or transfer into a bank account.
And if you lose your card, you can freeze it from within the Venmo app and continue to use your virtual account.
Venmo originally launched a debit card in June 2018 that was tied directly to members’ accounts.
It allowed users to make purchases in-store and online, withdraw funds from ATMs and earn cash back at select merchants.
‘Venmo is one of the first platforms to successfully blend payments and social experiences at scale,’ said Matt Dill, Visa’s SVP Global Head of Digital Partnerships and Ventures.
‘We are really excited to help take that unique capability to the next level by partnering with Venmo and Synchrony to introduce a digital-first Visa credit card that will connect the Venmo community with Visa sellers worldwide.’
While most people don’t check their credit card accounts daily, Venmo senior vice president Darrell Esch says the app ‘has become an integral part of the way our community spends, shares and manages their money.
‘It’s an all-the-time, every-day app,’ he told MarketWatch.
Esch expects that loyalty will drive ‘engagement and awareness’ about spending patterns with the card, and push Venmo to offer more financial management tools in the future.
‘I think customers are going to be surprised … that a credit-card program is doing the calculations for them and for their benefit every time,’ Esch said.
Venmo is offering the card to just a limited number of users at the moment who have had an account for at least 30 days and have been active in the past 12 months.
They will be rolled out nationwide in the coming months, the company said.
Source: Dailymail