PayPal Launches Venmo Credit Card

Online payments giant PayPal is teaming with Synchrony Financial to roll out a Venmo co-branded credit card next year, marking a first for the peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer platform, the companies announced in a press release on Thursday (Oct. 17).

“For 15 years, Synchrony has been a strategic partner in offering credit cards that enable greater purchasing power and rewards for PayPal consumers,” said PayPal CEO Dan Schulman. “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Synchrony to bring groundbreaking new credit experiences to the Venmo community through a desirable credit card and a seamless in-app experience.”

Venmo started with P2P payments and launched a debit card last year. It also offers a “pay with Venmo” option with partners like Uber.

“PayPal and Venmo continue to transform the payment experience for consumers, and we are proud to be their partner-of-choice,” said Synchrony CEO Margaret Keane. “Synchrony’s digital technology and expertise will enable Venmo and PayPal to further grow their business by creating new innovative consumer experiences.”

Users will be able to use and manage their accounts natively in the Venmo app. Cardholders will also be able to split and share purchases. Data analytics will be used to create “personalized shopping and payment experiences” for its users.

Venmo was purchased by Braintree in 2012 for $26 million. PayPal, in turn, acquired Braintree for $800 million in 2013, picking up Venmo in the process. 

The Venmo app — which allows users to comment on payments and see what friends are spending on — recently secured partnerships with merchants, including Chipotle, Grubhub and Uber. These relationships are an important way for Venmo, which is not yet profitable, to bring in revenue.

The app reached 40 million users at the end of Q1 and is expected to make $300 million in revenue this year, Schulman said in April. But the company would not say when it is expected to turn a profit.