Venmo tests physical debit card
When the app is not enough…
Venmo is planning to introduce a physical debit card to supplement its payments app, according to Recode.
Testing at Venmo is reportedly underway. The card will enable users to make purchases at brick-and-mortar shops using the money from Venmo account.
Test purchases are being made at fast-food chains including Taco Bell and Chipolte and “small mom-and-pop shops”, according to Recode.
US competition heating up
In May, Square launched a physical prepaid card for its Square Cash money transfer service (which competes with Venmo).
Meanwhile, Apple has recently unveiled Apple Pay Cash – a new money transfer service and a virtual payment card that can be used for payments in physical shops.
Venmo’s major rival Zelle is ramping up its presence, with a raft of US banks and credit unions signing up for its P2P payment service.
Also, consumers in the US will soon be able to use PayPal in Android Pay to make purchases at retailers in-store, in-app and online.
And a new deal between PayPal (Venmo’s parent) and Wells Fargo is on its way. Wells Fargo’s customers will soon be able to use PayPal to make mobile wallet purchases at participating merchants that accept NFC (tap and pay) payments. It will allow customers to use a Wells Fargo debit or credit card in PayPal wallet to make payments with an Android phone.
In California, Redwood Credit Union has just launched its own mobile P2P payment service, RCUpay.
