Venmo Makes Business Profiles Available For SMBs

Venmo has made business profiles available to the public, according to a company blog.

The company, which announced the idea last year, has now rolled out business accounts for small businesses including sole proprietors and casual sellers, allowing them to create profiles from the Venmo app.

Businesses will be able to be discovered now, organize business transactions, accept payments from customers, and keep business use separate from one’s personal Venmo use. The company says one can seamlessly transition between business and personal accounts, and there will be touch-free options to aid with social distancing.

According to Venmo, there are already over 150,000 users of the business services including “professional services, artists, real estate services, personal trainers, beauty shops and more.”

The blog says Venmo is also doing away with the seller transaction fees until April 1, 2021.

One can sign up for the business profile by tapping their profile picture or clicking on the menu icon, the blog says.

Venmo announced the business payment idea last June, with the company saying it could work out for sole proprietors as well as those with a side hustle, and that it could help out with additional money during the pandemic’s economic destruction. The company noted that over 75 percent of small U.S. businesses are sole proprietors. With the pandemic having shut down businesses or hurt them because of a lack of new customers, Venmo thought it could help.

The company said the new app could apply to proprietors who are selling homemade objects at their neighborhood craft fairs, delivering unique hairstyling opportunities, selling floral arrangements or mowing lawns.

Venmo said it knew how difficult things could get for those looking to connect, market and grow, as traditional methods like word of mouth became less effective without big advertising budgets.

In addition, users will be able to customize their pages with logos and profile pictures.