JUST VENMO ME By: Claire Sonksen
With a tap on your smartphone you can pay your friend back for yesterday’s dinner, split this month’s electricity bill between roommates, and request money from your mom to pay for your flight home for Christmas. Venmo, the new leading peer-to-peer payment system, enables you to send, receive, request, and review transactions on your phone with minimal effort. Through combining PayPal’s online payment system and Facebook’s news feed feature, Venmo is revolutionizing the way to pay for a wide variety of daily expenses in a fraction of the time. The app turned common-used verb is best known for it’s efficiency, safety, and socially engaging interactions, providing users with the quickest access to money online.
Efficiency
Imagine how much faster drive-throughs, dining out, and grocery shopping would be if one person paid and split the check later. Only a sliver of the time would be needed to establish who owes whom and how much. With Venmo, the check-splitting time is marginal as ATM trips are eliminated and online bill pay is made possible (Student, 2013). Venmo gives users the luxury of entering a payment amount, from your chosen account, selecting who will receive the funds and adding in a quick note describing the reason for payment The process is made even easier through connecting your bank account in the beginning, eliminating it down to three easy steps (Braintree, 2013). Figure 1 to the left demonstrates the process from start to finish of utilizing the Venmo app. With the all encompassing use of Venmo on your smartphone, ATM trips are no longer necessary to withdrawal cash, freeing up more time in your day. However, what happens when your coworker hasn’t yet paid you for last week’s steak and lobster dinner? Venmo’s request option keeps the awkward reminders at a minimum. Simply request the amount of money that is owed, and they are charged on Venmo. A reminder will even be sent again a few days later if that charge has still not been paid. Arguably one of the most convenient parts of this peer-to-peer banking system is that no one is required to have the same bank to send and receive money. Whether it is Wells Figure 1 The step-by-step process of downloading and using Venmo.
Fargo, Chase, or Bank of America, your account info is stored in Venmo, simply press send or request and the transaction is in place. Venmo’s app easily processes transactions even when both parties have different servicers. But with millions of users entering their personal banking information into a free, downloadable app, how safe can it truly be?
Safety
With millions of users, Venmo is known as the safest online peer-to-peer payment system available, with several security checks in place guaranteeing safety to its users. To illustrate, all data is sent over a 256-bit encrypted connection, the same encryption method used to protect classified government information (Roller, 2013). On top of that, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protects all Venmo transactions. Additionally, several stops have been put in place by the app to assure enhanced security. In order to prevent fraudulent activity, Venmo places a $3,000 weekly transaction limit, as well as a cash out amount of $5,000 (Calolina, 2013). Since transactions occur in the Venmo app itself and not your bank, the cash-out option allows you to easily transfer your Venmo funds to your personal account. To prevent the ability of hacking, Venmo has provided better email notifications, as well as more than one step in the authentication process to secure safety (Mishkin, 2015). For those frequently requesting and receiving from the same party, the “trust” option is available. Friends you have opted to “trust” can automatically withdrawal money from your account, with both parties selecting the trust option. With several security steps in place, you’re able to connect on Venmo with a wide variety of people, initially connecting with them is where the social aspect comes into play.
Sociability
As previously mentioned, Venmo is a peer-to-peer payment system, meant to function with all those one can connect with via social media. Once you’ve linked up with friends via your contacts and social media engagement, you are set to go. Capitalizing on the social media fetish of twenty-something year olds, transactions are displayed in a Facebook-like stream, building on the need to scroll and view the lives of others (Stern, 2014). While not showing you the dollar amount of friends’ transactions, you can see who paid whom and for what. Figure 2 The easy and effective way Venmo utilizes an interactive newsfeed. Figure 2 to the right is a clear example of the Facebook-like stream of information, showcasing the most recent transactions made. The social aspect of Venmo gives it an edge over competing apps such as Paypal. Venmo is seen alongside popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter, changing a payment transaction list into content that can be shared with friends on social network feeds (Investopida, 2015).
Its success of the social factor ultimately relies heavily on users catching onto the Venmo culture. Instead of sharing, “Mark paid John for lunch”, users acknowledge that the description will be shared with friends and can get more engaging, like “Mark paid John for an artery-clogging special at Waffle House.” It is no longer just about what picture you post on Instagram, what you just tweeted on Twitter, but also what you’re doing that requires being paid or paying someone else back.
Conclusion
Venmo has removed created an efficient way to pay others back and backed transactions by the FDIC, all to make your day easier. Through capturing the users of social media with its interactive way to pay, Venmo has bridged the unnecessary gap between convenient and fun, providing users with an all in one peer-to-peer banking system. Next time you plan on splitting the bill with your colleague, don’t worry about how much cash you have in your wallet because Venmo has you covered. References Braintree and venmo launch one touch payments for mobile apps. (2013, Jan 31). Business Wire Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1283023545?accountid=4488 Calolina, J. (2013, September 8). Venmo Reviews: The Peer-to-Peer Payment System to Replace Paypal, QuickPay. Retrieved October 12, 2015, from http://www.gobankingrates.com/banking/venmo-peer-peer-payment-systemreplace-paypal-quickpay/ Investopedia stock analysis: How safe is venmo and why is it free? (2015). Chatham: Newstex. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1665578657?accountid=4488 Mishkin, S. (2015). How secure are payment technologies? FT.Com, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1679834531?accountid=4488 Roller, E. (2013, August 5). The Spawn of Facebook and Paypal. Retrieved November 4, 2015, from http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2013/08/venmo_re view_the_wallet_app_is_light_years_ahead_of_paypal.html Stern, J. (2014, May 13). Show me the money: The best apps to pay friends back; comparing venmo, square cash, PayPal and google wallet. Wall Street Journal (Online) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1523938267?accountid=4488 Student marketplace and peer-to-peer payments: A perfect pairing. (2013, Oct 16). PR Newswire Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1442158802?accountid=4488