Known for their tech-savvy ways, Millennials have found a way to forgo hard cash in turn for mobile payments amongst themselves. Ebay’s mobile-payment app, Venmo allows users to wire money back and forth on-the-go by linking the app up to their credit cards and bank accounts. While purchasing the app is free, Venmo makes money by generally docking 3% of the transaction from the sender. This somewhat social app has blossomed this quarter, handling $316 million in mobile payments, up 62% from the last quarter.
In an age group that constantly finds themselves splitting tabs in social settings, Venmo solves the problems for all those annoying friends who just so happen to “never have any cash” on them to pay for anything from drinks to gas to cab rides.
According to Ron Shevlin, a senior analyst at Aite Group LLC, people exchange about $1 trillion in the U.S. each year, and while the mobile-wallet hasn’t quite come to dominate the market in any way, as it is still in the early adopter phase, it is likely to grow in popularity due to its convenience, ease, and speed.
Ebay’s CEO, John Donahoe, pointed out the apps “explosive growth on college campuses” especially. The social community of college campus atmospheres helps to foster a rapid adoption of this new payment method, because people are pressured to hop on the bandwagon, as it offers proof and reminders of who has paid who back and for what. A 21-year-old investment firm worker in New York, Allan Kang, told Bloomberg: “The logistical issue of it is: If I don’t use this app, I’m never going to be able to pay my friends back.”
Older teens and twenty-somethings are paving the way to popularize a quick and easy payment method that triumphs over hard cash or checks. Just like the Millennials who drove out landlines and desktops, you may as well start saying goodbye to your dollar bills.
via facebook/venmo
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