Kaya Leitner ’19

Don’t worry about paying me back tomorrow! Just Venmo me $10.”
“Thanks for covering me. I’ll Venmo you half.”
“If I lose the bet, I’ll Venmo you $5.”

In the new era of monetary transactions, Venmo, an app that allows users to electronically transfer funds to friends, is now commonly utilized as a verb.

No checks are written. No tactile cash exchanged. The Venmo app connects to an individual’s credit card information, allowing transactions to be made directly from a smartphone.

“Venmo has changed so much for me. I use it easily everyday. It’s so easy because I never have cash on me. Venmo is hooked up to my personal account so it is money I’ve earned myself,” Will Rosenthal ’19 said. “But a lot of people use their parents money and that’s a bad habit to fall into. Access is so immediate so people don’t realize how much they are spending.”
Lexy Barlow ’18, nicknamed “Venmo,” anticipates the app being beneficial for college.
“My senior shirt name was literally Venmo,” Barlow said. “I’m notorious for being the first name on everyone’s Venmo list. It’s just so much easier. I rarely have cash on me so it’s going to be helpful for college too.”

While Venmo’s easy access seems to pose a plethora of advantages, Luke Welch ’19 has concerns.

“Living in an affluent town like Westport, an app like Venmo can be pretty dangerous.,” Welch said.Kids are hooked up to their parents information, sometimes even without them knowing, and they are blowing through money. People are losing the concept of money.”

Another red flag potentially associated with the popularity of Venmo is the ability for transactions to be calculated to the last cent. This preciseness is often compromised in person-to-person cash exchanges, as it may be cumbersome to count out $17.34 when you conveniently have a twenty dollar bill.

Some even fear Venmo will foster a less charitable and gracious society. Mia Kobylinski ’19 expressed this concern.

“I guess you could say that Venmo makes people very calculated and when it comes to giving tips or transactions that are supposed to be philanthropic, people could potentially lose sight in the value of being generous,” Kobylinski said. “However people do get to save money.”

Samantha Pacilio ’19 demonstrates distrust regarding Venmo because she is familiar with circumstances where users personal information was compromised as a result of the app.

“My sisters friend had her account hacked and thousands of dollars were stolen,” Pacilio said. “People have to keep user safety in mind before obsessing over the app’s convenience. It can be really dangerous if people aren’t cautious.”