PayPal’s Venmo is now a major competitor in mobile payments with the launch of its checkout service on retail applications that features innovative sharing capabilities and follows a successful year marked by 140 percent growth. 

Users on mobile applications such as Delivery.com and Munchery can now check out seamlessly with Venmo capability by saving their account information and eliminating the need to consistently enter payment info but also allow users to split the cost with others. The peer-to-peer payments app will likely offer major competition to others attempting to conquer the mobile payments space, as the platform garners attention from a wide range of millennials by adding a social aspect.

“There is a lot of competition in the mobile payments space to send and receive monies between friends, but what makes Venmo a big deal is the social aspect they add to basic payments,” said Paul Dubie, manager at Boston Retail Partners. “The user is not just paying a friend back for lunch; they can add a taco and beer emoji along with their thank you.

“This message gets shared within the user’s social network, and perhaps even making another friend jealous they missed out on ‘Taco Tuesday,’” he said. “Social media sharing is great for businesses of any kind, and it is here to stay.

“Venmo has done a great job of capturing this feature in their app and it is their point of differentiation.”

Pay with Venmo
Pay with Venmo has now launched on apps for Delivery.com, Posh Mark, Parking Panda, dolly, Wish, hop, Munchery, Gametime and Priv. Users can log in with their Venmo information with less steps and check out without having to enter their payment info.

Venmo is not taking its mobile payments launch lightly and is looking to corner the space with an innovative feature that allows users to split payments made through Pay with Venmo at any time. For instance, if friends are purchasing items or services on the partnered apps, one user can check out using Pay with Venmo and request payment from friends later.

Users open the Venmo app, click on the charge they wish to split and press “split.” The individual can then select all the users to split the bill with and it will automatically evenly divvy up the charges. Venmo is keeping the social aspect of payments alive by sharing charges on opted in users’ feeds within the app.

Customers can track their purchases directly within the Venmo app and connect or disconnect their accounts from participating apps at anytime.

PayPal growth
Nonprofits’ mobile giving programs could get a boost as PayPal recently rolled out new programs that make it easier for on-the-go millennials to donate to a charity (see more).

Visa and PayPal have thrown a twist into the race for mobile payments domination by entering into a strategic partnership that will broaden consumers’ ability to pay via PayPal and Venmo and improve security, indicating the importance of collaborations in this competitive space (see more).

“As Venmo adds payment capabilities through other apps, they expand their footprint into the payment space and provide users even more reasons to use their service,” Mr. Dubie said. “If a user can now book a hotel or order food with the same credit card she has linked to pay her roommate for rent, she’s more inclined to do it.

“The fewer the steps or clicks, the easier it becomes for the users to make the jump,” he said. “As we all become more conscious about the security of our credit and debit cards, one less place we have to enter our credit card number, the safer we are.

“As Venmo adds the capability to pay with its platform on other apps, they are helping to protect the user base they are working to expand, as security is one of the key benefits of mobile payments.”