Venmo to Launch Debit Card

Venmo, the popular peer-to-peer payment app owned by ETA member PayPal, is launching a Mastercard debit card. The card, announced today via blog post, will allow Venmo users to pay for goods and services and withdraw cash at ATMs directly from their Venmo balance.

The card, issued by The Bancorp Bank, comes after a limited pilot debit card program on the Visa network. The new card, which Venmo says is in limited release now but will expand in availability over the next few months, is accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted in the U.S.

Venmo says the card will sport features including NFC-enabled contactless payments, balance reloads via the user’s linked bank account, a remote shut-off button in the app in the event the card is lost, and a transaction tracker in the Venmo app which will enable easy splitting with friends, a popular function of the app among its users.

The card comes in a vertical orientation with six possible color options and will be available with for fee, Venmo said in its blog post.

The peer-to-peer marketplace has experienced a renaissance in recent months as new services like bank-backed Zelle, the Square’s Cash app, and Apple Pay Cash have given consumers an array of options in mobile money transfers.

Interested in learning more about the future use cases of peer-to-peer applications? Check out this Transaction Trending podcast episode with Zelle leader Lou Anne Alexander.