Venmo adds in-app charity donations, redesigned ‘send money’ screen • businessroundups.org

PayPal-owned Venmo today introduced two changes to its peer-to-peer payments app, including the ability to donate to charities through Venmo and a redesigned money-sending experience. The latter aims to make it easier to see how much you’re sending and who you’re sending to, while also improving the ability to pay or request multiple payments at once.

The updates will be available to all Venmo users for both iOS and Android today, the company says, though the donation feature will expand with new capabilities over time.

Initially, Venmo users will be able to browse verified charities in their local community or browse charitable categories including, for example, animals and pets, disaster relief, or education. Users can choose to make a donation to the charity of their choice using their Venmo balance, debit or credit card or a linked bank account. In the coming weeks, Venmo users will also be able to share a donation they’ve made with their friends to encourage others to give the company notes as well.

Venmo parent company PayPal has been offering a similar charity feature in its own app since 2016, connecting its users to the tens of thousands of certified charities available through the PayPal Giving Fund. The fund collects donations on behalf of users, issues receipts to donors, and then distributes the money directly to the charities’ PayPal accounts. Venmo, meanwhile, has focused on peer-to-peer payments and, in more recent years, has allowed users to pay businesses and other small merchants.

However, in October, PayPal has announced that charities can create a profile on Venmo to reach beyond the PayPal community and also tap into Venmo’s user base of some 90 million customers through an upcoming in-app feature. At the time, the company noted that 61% of donors are most likely to hear about causes through word of mouth with friends and family, which is why the more social Venmo app would make sense.

To use the newly added feature, Venmo users can tap the search bar at the top of the app and select the new “Make a Donation” option. They can then browse the ‘Find a Charity’ page where they can select a PayPal confirmed charity and learn more about the charity. When they’re ready to donate, they tap the “Donate” button, enter an amount and a note. Later, they can share the donation to inspire friends.

are transaction costs currently set at 1.9% + $0.10 for the charity profiles on Venmo and excludes other setup or monthly fees.

The other change coming to Venmo isn’t necessarily a new feature, but rather involves a redesign of the user interface. Now Venmo users will see a new “send money” experience with added profile pictures and a larger font size for the dollar amount. Previously, users could see the profile picture when they were on a friend’s page, but the actual “Pay or Request” screen only contained their name and a small box to enter the amount.

Additionally, Venmo says customers can tap the plus “+” button next to the first recipient’s profile picture to browse a list and add more recipients to the same transaction. Here Venmo displays the total amount being sent as well as the amount for each transaction. This provides an easy way to quickly send money to a group of people, which can be a handy way to gift friends or family some cash during the holiday season.

Both changes should reach all mobile Venmo users today.