The New Venmo Credit Card – What You Need to Know

Peer-to-peer options have made life a lot more convenient. If you are splitting a check or want to tip out your hairdresser directly, with a tap of a button you can easily send them money. If you use Venmo a lot, you should consider the new Venmo credit card. The company has just released the New Venmo card in October. It is simply a new credit card where you can spend your Venmo balance and get cash-back rewards based on your unique spending habits. .

What is Venmo?

Peer-to-peer payment app Venmo allows you to split bills and share the amount of any purchase among friends and family. Owned and operated by PayPal, it started off as an app that enabled account holders to transfer funds to one another through their smartphones. It allows you to pay or request money from others. You also can use Venmo to make purchases from online and in-person stores.

How did Venmo Card get its start?

Venmo was launched in 2009 with the primary target market being groups of friends splitting restaurant/movie bills, sharing rent, paying for carpools, and more. In 2018, it introduced the Venmo Debit Card to allow in-person transactions any place in the United States where Mastercard was accepted.

Backed by The Bancorp Bank, Venmo Mastercard was directly linked to a customer’s Venmo account and could be used to make purchases both online and in-store as well as withdraw funds from ATMs. You could even earn cash-back rewards at select merchants.  

Announcing the New Venmo Credit Card

Venmo has now expanded its card offering by introducing the first Venmo credit card. Launched in October, 2020, it is issued by Synchrony and is supported by the Visa network. 

According to an official press release, the Venmo credit card will provide the same unique experience while offering a highly convenient service. You can manage your account directly in the Venmo app. You’ll be able to see what you are spending, make payments, and see reward activity. You can also use a virtual card to shop online, even before your physical card arrives. and a rewards program managed seamlessly by the Venmo app. 

Venmo Credit Card Application Details

The Venmo credit card has initially been made available to a select group of customers who’ve had an active Venmo account for at least 30 days. In the coming months, the application for the card will be extended to a wider number of users.

If you’re interested in getting the new Venmo credit card, you can apply through the app. You just need to be 18 years old, living in the U.S. and have an account in good standing that’s been running for a minimum of 1 month. As a new cardholder, you will get a temporary account number once your application is approved. This will enable you to start shopping before receiving the physical card.

Cash-back Rewards

If you become a Venmo credit cardholder, you will be able to tap into an exclusive rewards system. Tailored to your individual spending habits, it will be based on cash-back benefits. For instance, in the category where you spend the most, you’ll get a 3% cash-back. This will drop down to 2% for the second-highest category while a 1% cash-back will be available on purchases in all other categories.

There are 8 reward classifications in total. These include:

  • grocery
  • travel
  • dining and nightlife
  • gas
  • transportation
  • health and beauty
  • bills and utilities
  • entertainment

The highest and second-highest categories may change from month to month, depending on where you will spend the most money. For example, your biggest expenditure during October might be groceries. This will become your 3% category for the month. However, you may end up traveling more in November. As a result, your highest-spending group will change from “grocery” to “travel.”

All through the month, you can use the Venmo app to check your top-spending categories. This will help you estimate the amount of cash-back earned. The exact number will be finalized at the end of every month.

Other than that, the Venmo card doesn’t offer a “welcome bonus” at the time of launch. However, you don’t have to bother with any activation process or keep an eye on bonus categories. The Venmo app algorithm does the legwork for you by analyzing your biggest spending areas. Based on that, your 3%, 2% and 1% rates are assigned.

Fees and Features

Another positive benefit of the Venmo credit card is that there are no annual fees. And since it’s a digital card, if you lose your card or it’s stolen, you can use the Venmo app to block/freeze it, while continuing to use the virtual one.  

The Venmo credit card also has a very clever design which includes a unique QR code printed on the front side. You can use it for activation while your friends and family can scan it to transfer payments through the app. 

TIP: As with any credit card, if you are working to pay down the debt you owe, do not accumulate new debt.

In Conclusion

The Venmo credit card is a good choice if you want to earn cash-back rewards without having to go through the usual hassles like activation and figuring out what purchases will get you the most benefits. As a regular Venmo user, you might get randomly selected for it this month. However, if you aren’t, the Venmo credit card is sure to be offered more widely soon.