Venmo rolls out major redesign as PayPal weighs business spin-off

Peer-to-peer payments app Venmo is rolling out a significant redesign of its mobile app starting this week. The entire redesign is expected to be available to all users by this fall.

The timing of the refresh coincides with broader corporate restructuring at Venmo’s parent company, PayPal. PayPal is currently restructuring to spin Venmo off as a stand-alone business unit. Additionally, payment processor Stripe has reportedly expressed interest in buying PayPal outright.

According to Alexis Sowa, Venmo’s senior vice president and general manager, the redesign addresses a common user research finding: “one of the biggest insights is how many features and functionalities we have that [customers] just have no idea exist in the app.” The update introduces several key changes to improve feature discovery and social interaction:

• Revamped Feed: Rolling out this week, the new feed features larger visuals and new quick-action buttons like “Pay Again” and “Say Thanks.” It will also surface tailored cashback offers and product suggestions.
• Local Business Endorsements: A new “Give a Shoutout” button allows users to support local merchants. Sowa noted that younger audiences have a strong desire to endorse local businesses, and this feature enables “social proofing”—which she defined as user endorsement of local businesses.
• New Navigation Tabs: Over the next few months, Venmo will launch “Send” and “Money” tabs. The “Send” tab places frequent contacts front and center, makes the bill-splitting “Groups” feature easier to access, and allows users to schedule payments or send gifts. The “Money” tab serves as a hub to manage expenses and access Teen Accounts and Crypto.
• Rewards and the Stash Program: A new Rewards tab will consolidate limited-time offers and house the Stash program. Launched last November, the Stash program is a cash-back rewards feature that gives users up to 5% cash back when they shop with favorite brands in the app, depositing the funds directly to their Venmo Mastercard Debit Card.
• Expanded Bill-Splitting: The redesigned interface allows users to split expenses with up to 30 people.

This shift toward social-first financial features aligns Venmo with other consumer fintech platforms. Competitor apps like Verse and Daylight have previously introduced features allowing users to follow friends’ spending habits, while the European fintech app Revolut offers group bill splitting and in-app chat.

Why it matters

This redesign is not merely a user interface refresh; it serves as a critical modernization effort to increase user engagement and feature visibility as Venmo prepares to operate as a standalone business unit.