An engineer investigating the code for Venmo’s Person-to-Person (P2P) app believes they have uncovered the details of a new product in development aimed at kids and teenagers. TechCrunch reports that it appears that adult Venmo users can have a “delegate” account attached to their account and request a separate debit card to be issued in the child’s name.
Teen cards and banking accounts for youngsters are nothing new. Venmo may be ‘banking’ on its brand recognition to expand its market share with the younger crowd. I do wonder how many active, current Venmo users, who tend to be much younger than users of platforms like Zelle, actually have children of money-spending age.
Venmo will run into some competition in this market:
Venmo is arriving late to the teen debit card market. Startups like Greenlight and Step let parents manage teen spending on dedicated debit cards. More companies like Kard and neo banking giant Revolut have announced plans to launch their own versions. And Venmo’s prototype uses very similar terminology to that of Current, a frontrunner in the children’s banking space with over 500,000 accounts that raised a $20 million Series B late last year.
The first signs of Venmo’s debit card were spotted by reverse engineering specialist Jane Manchun Wong, who has provided slews of accurate tips to TechCrunch in the past. Hidden in Venmo’s Android app is code revealing a “delegate card” feature, designed to let users create a debit card that’s connected to their account but has limited privileges.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
