Venmo is an American mobile payment service. Founded in 2009 and now owned by PayPal, Venmo is designed to help friends and family share bills like movie tickets, food, rent, or event tickets.
Account users can send money to others through the mobile app. The sender and recipient must reside in the United States.
In this article, we will tell you more about the history of Venmo and who owns the company.
The history of Venmo
Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail They met as undergraduate roommates at the University of Pennsylvania and developed Venmo.
They wanted to create a transaction system that friends could use. According to Kortina, the two were inspired to design the transaction solution while helping a friend open a yogurt shop and “Realized how bad the old point of sale software was”
In addition to these factors Other coincidences A lot happened. All of which played a part in Venmo’s invention.
Kortina and Magdon-Ismail The idea was to send a message to buy an MP3 of a local jazz program.
Holiday to Cortina
Finally, when Magdon-Ismail Having misplaced his wallet while on a trip to Kortina, the idea was strengthened. The debt repayment process is not convenient. Especially when compared to the simplicity of mobile transactions.
They began working on techniques for sending money using cell phones shortly after Venmo debuted in 2009.
Their early prototypes used text messages to send money. But they soon switched to smartphone apps to make transactions more convenient.
Before October 2015, Venmo did not allow transactions between consumers and businesses. Venmo started on January 27, 2016, working with a small group of merchants to accept Venmo as a form of payment.
Munchery and Gametime were among the first launch partners. Venmo is now accepted by all merchants that accept PayPal. Venmo’s merchant offering does not allow “in-person sales of goods or services” as of May 2018.
PayPal said in October 2020 that starting in the first half of 2021, its Venmo and PayPal services will allow customers to receive and use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin in select international markets.
Venmo said on April 20, 2021 that it will begin rolling out the ability to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies on the platform.
However, only a few people have access to the service. And it is expected that Bitcoin transactions will be available to the entire user base in May 2021.
Who owns Venmo?
PayPal is the company that owns Venmo. Both companies are well-known providers of mobile payment solutions. Both Android and iOS devices accept money transfers via their mobile apps.
Venmo requires users to be U.S. citizens to use the app. Venmo was founded in 2009 to make it easier to split bills between friends.
Quickly gaining popularity among people of all ages, Venmo was responsible for handling $159 billion in consumer transactions in the first quarter of 2018.
A popular app used by many people across the United States, Venmo was first acquired in its short life in 2012 when Braintree paid $26.2 million to acquire it.
Its parent business, Braintree, was acquired by PayPal the following year. As a result, PayPal, another cashless transaction service, now owns Venmo.
Venmo and PayPal: Moving Forward
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman believes adding additional capabilities, such as bill pay, which allows users to pay for all services through a single platform, will make Venmo even more popular.
He expects that average Venmo users will be happy with the additional capabilities it provides.
Venmo’s revenue is expected to grow 60% in 2020 compared to last year, according to PayPal.
In January 2020, it was reported that Venmo’s revenue run rate had reached $550 million. While these percentages are satisfactory, PayPal already has more than $21 billion in revenue. This indicates that Venmo could expand.
Both Venmo and PayPal executives recognize that Venmo is a platform that can generate huge revenue for their parent companies. And they’re using their resources to maximize the potential of Venmo’s 60 million user base.
Conclusion
Venmo is being transformed into a platform that engages users and keeps them engaged with a variety of services. By adding new functions and features such as commercial transactions direct payment and digital currency
Venmo will soon become the platform of choice for all citizens. Not just Millennials If we continue on this path of innovative innovation.
