What Venmo's new segment could mean for its future
Mobile peer-to-peer transfer (P2P) app Venmo now allows groups and organizations to create accounts that can be used for paying dues, collecting reimbursements, and processing other transactions, according to a Venmo blog post. The feature can only be accessed through a web browser and is still in beta mode, but sign-ups are open to anyone with a pre-existing Venmo account.
Venmo group accounts mimic regular Venmo accounts. The service is intended to act as a separate shared account that groups can use for organization-based transactions. It also allows groups to assign managers, who administer the groups.
This has the potential to further increase Venmo's numbers and separate it from the competition.
- In Q2 2015, Venmo's growth slowed, but transaction volume increased 247% year-over-year (YoY) to $1.6 billion. Venmo benefits from a network effect: Every time a new person begins to use the app, it becomes more valuable to existing users. The group accounts feature will give customers new use cases, which may further boost volume.
- This move separates Venmo from its competitors in the P2P payments ecosystem. The P2P transfer ecosystem is becoming more crowded, with companies like Square, Snapchat and Facebook launching their own products. Offering group transfers can help Venmo capture new clients whose needs couldn't be fulfilled by competing platforms.
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