Venmo adds debit card perks, checkout options in push to catch rival Cash App

Venmo, long known for helping friends split dinner bills and birthday gifts, is jumping into the heart of consumer commerce. The PayPal -owned platform on Wednesday rolled out several updates designed to move beyond peer-to-peer transfers, transforming Venmo into a more robust fintech tool for everyday spending. The changes include upgraded rewards for Venmo Debit Mastercard users, expanded checkout options at major retailers, and a new brand campaign aimed at positioning Venmo, which has more than 64 million monthly active users, as a full-service commerce platform. "We're transforming from a payments app into a full-service commerce experience for users to spend their balance on everything, in-store and online," said Diego Scotti, EVP and general manager of PayPal's Consumer Group. It's a shift that sees Venmo trying to catch up to rivals in a key fintech growth area and capture more of the daily consumer wallet. Venmo's debit card penetration is still in the single digits, comp ... Read full article.