Venmo’s biggest makeover in years comes at a very interesting time

Venmo is rolling out a major redesign in the coming months that aims to make the app more useful, social and easier to navigate. This is the biggest refresh of the peer-to-peer payment app since 2021.

The timing is remarkable. PayPal, which owns Venmo, is transformation to spin off Venmo as a standalone business unit — a move widely seen as setting the stage for a potential sale. Stripe has reportedly expressed interest in PayPal purchase completely. In this context, an explosive redesign looks less like a regular update and more like a pre-transaction window job.

The rollout will begin this week, followed by additional features in the coming months. By the time fall arrives, the entire redesign is expected to be available to all users.

One of the first changes users will notice starting this week is the revamped feed. Where it once showed a simple list of who paid — complete with GIFs, a heart button, and comments — the new feed will include a wider variety of graphics and larger images, along with more ways to respond to payments, such as reactions and quick action buttons like “Pay Again” and “Say Thanks.” It will also be more personalised, featuring tailored cashback offers from brands you shop from and product recommendations based on past purchases.

Another addition is the ability for users to endorse their favorite local businesses directly through the app. A new “Give a Shoutout” button will be available on in-stream payments.

As Alexis Sowa, Venmo’s senior vice president and general manager, explained to TechCrunch, “One of the things we hear a lot, especially from Gen Z and the younger audience, is a real desire to support and support local businesses or merchants that they like. With this stream redesign, we’re giving them an opportunity to share what we’re saying to people who can future-proof social protection. Well done, almost to say, “I’m going to you.”

Two new tabs, Send and Money, will also be released in the coming months. In the Send feed, your most frequent contacts now appear as a series of profile icons front and center, instead of asking you to dig through past contacts or usernames. The ‘Groups’ feature for splitting bills is now easier, allowing users to share expenses with up to 30 people. You can also send gifts to friends and schedule payments in the Send section.

The Money tab, meanwhile, is where you can manage your spending as well as access teen accounts and crypto.

There will also be a new Rewards tab that will bring together all the limited time offers in one place. Venmo’s Stash program will also live here. It launched last November and gives users up to 5% cash back when they shop with their favorite brands on the app, money deposited directly to their Venmo Mastercard debit card.

Sowa said the redesign came about after a year of user research, and that one of the biggest findings was how many features people didn’t know existed. “One of the biggest insights is how many features and functions we have [customers] I just have no idea it’s in the app,” he said.

The update reflects a broader trend in what younger users expect from payment apps — less utility, more social platform. For example, apps like Verse and Daylight offer features that let users keep up with their friends’ spending behavior, and European fintech app Revolut offers features like group account splitting and in-app chat.

Venmo’s core audience increasingly wants to see and share financial activity the way they would on any other stream, and the app is clearly trying to meet that expectation before a potential new owner comes along.