Venmo launches its first credit card

Venmo has launched its first credit card (the aptly named Venmo Credit Card). It’s rolling out today to “select customers,” according to the company, but it will be available to everyone in the coming months. You can apply through the Venmo app, provided that you’re at least 18, live in the US, and have a Venmo account in good standing that’s been open for at least 30 days.

The Visa card can be managed directly in the Venmo app. You’ll be able to view your spending activity, track your rewards, make payments (you can use your Venmo balance to pay off the card), and split purchases. You can also use a virtual card to shop online, even before your physical card arrives.

Like Venmo accounts, Venmo cards will have a unique QR code on the front that others can scan with their phone camera to send or request money. They also come with an RFID chip to allow for tap-to-pay transactions. You can choose one of five designs.

Venmo

While many programs structure cash back incentives based on categories they’ve selected (Amazon’s credit card, for example, gives up to a 5 percent rebate for Amazon and Whole Foods purchases; 2 percent at gas stations, restaurants, and drug stores; and 1 percent for everything else), Venmo’s card rewards cash back based on your own spending habits.

Venmo will sort your purchases into a number of categories, including dining and nightlife, travel, bills and utilities, health and beauty, grocery, gas, transportation, and entertainment. You’ll earn 3 percent cash back on your “top spend” category (the one where you spend the most money during your statement period), 2 percent on your second-highest spend category, and 1 percent on everything else. The card doesn’t charge an annual fee, but there are other typical fees for things like cash advances and late and returned payments as well as interest.

At the end of each statement period, your cash rewards are automatically transferred to your Venmo account. You can then use it the same way you can use the rest of your Venmo balance: you can pay friends, make purchases online, or transfer money to the bank or debit card connected to your Venmo account.

This isn’t Venmo’s first payment card; that honor belongs to the Venmo Debit Card, released back in 2018. That card, which was a Mastercard issued by Bancorp Bank, also offered a cash back rewards program and could be operated within the Venmo app.