PayPal Opens Its New Venmo Credit Card to Users Generally

PayPal Holdings Inc. on Tuesday threw the door wide open for applications for its new Venmo credit card. The Visa-branded card, which the company has had in the works since 2019 and began issuing to select users in October, includes a Quick Response code, a rewards structure, and, through the Venmo app, the ability to track and schedule purchases and cash back, view spending trends, and share and schedule payments.

PayPal is counting on the card, which is issued by long-time PayPal partner Synchrony, to help bolster revenue for the highly popular Venmo peer-to-peer payment service. The app claims almost 70 million users and racked up approximately $47 billion in volume in the fourth quarter, up 60% from the same period in 2019.

But while P2P volume earns slim margins, the new card, with its widespread Visa acceptance, will pull in interchange revenue for PayPal and Synchrony that will allow the partners to tap into Venmo’s rapid growth.

The new card offers features designed to promote wide and immediate usage. Its QR code feature allows users to activate the card immediately by scanning the code. Later, a purchase can be split with others by letting them scan the code. Usage also invokes rewards, with 3% cash back on the top spend category, 2% on the next-biggest category, and 1% on everything else, according to PayPal. The cash is added to the users’ Venmo balance. Venmo users must have had an account for at least 30 days and be “in good standing” to be eligible for the new card, PayPal says.

Venmo as well as PayPal QR codes have also been available to trigger purchases at the point of sale since November, when PayPal’s barcode program went live at CVS stores.