Your Venmo money may now be used for much more than just paying for your portion of last night’s pizza. Amazon is bringing out the ability to pay using your Venmo balance, a connected bank account, or a related debit card, as promised last year. You may use Venmo as the default payment method if you like, and the service’s purchase protection will still apply in addition to Amazon’s own precautions.
Venmo is now an option for certain Amazon customers. According to the manufacturer, it should be widely accessible in the United States by Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). You may include the option of using Amazon’s website or mobile app.
The encouragement is not surprising. As of this writing, Venmo has almost 90 million members. The additional payment option may encourage that vast audience to use Venmo more often in general, particularly for shopping. Meanwhile, Amazon gains access to consumers who seldom utilize traditional payment methods.
This Amazon move also coincides with PayPal’s increased use of Venmo as a catch-all platform. Venmo allows you to pay for Lyft trips, handle cryptocurrencies, and even cash checks. You may now accomplish a major portion of your shopping online. Venmo isn’t yet a full-fledged alternative to conventional banking, but it’s getting there.
