I remember when I was using Venmo all of the time. It was fun since there was a social element and almost everyone I knew was using it.
Over the years, however, the younger crowd has seemed keen to use the Cash app over Venmo when it comes to sending money to each other. That was also because Venmo did not offer an account specifically for teens. Today, Venmo is looking to change that.
In a press release, the company announced the Venmo Teen Account, a new account designed specifically for minors that are between 13 to 17 years old. In addition to the digital account, the teen account will also provide account owners with a debit card. Venmo says that parents will be able to “monitor transactions, manage privacy settings, send money to their teen, and will help parents to educate their teens on creating healthy money habits.”
Erika Sanchez, Vice President and General Manager of Venmo, said in a statement that “Venmo is a natural place for teens to learn how to engage with money responsibly, especially considering 86% of Gen Z are interested in using an app to learn about personal finance.”
“For parents or legal guardians, the Venmo Teen Account allows them to give some financial flexibility to their teens, while giving them parental controls and visibility into their teen’s spending habits.”
The company says that teens will be able to customize their debit cards and use the app to see their own individual account balances. Parents will be able to monitor up to five teen accounts and even change the PIN or lock/unlock their teens’ cards.
It’s not a bad idea, but it does feel like Venmo is once again chasing the Cash app here. Square has been innovating and Venmo has been playing catchup for a while now when it comes to competition within the payments space. It honestly feels like this is a way for the company to entice parents to drag their teens away from the Cash app into the Venmo app since they are already in it.
That may be an unfair opinion, especially since a report from The Pew Center in 2022 shows that more people in almost any age range have used Venmo more than the Cash app, but it does feel like Square has the cultural momentum here. We’ll see if they can keep that since recent estimates still put Venmo around 20 million users ahead of the Cash app.
I’m personally going to stick with the Cash app. It’s a better design, feels more modern, and is easier to use. That said, I’m basically always using Apple Cash now since I have an iPhone, so I’m not too deep in the Cash app vs Venmo battle. Good luck to all — I’ll stick to my walled garden.
