Uber And Venmo Ink Payment Partnership

Uber and Venmo, the payment app owned by PayPal, announced on Thursday (July 12) that they’re partnering to deliver a new payment experience available with Uber and Uber Eats.

In a press release, PayPal said that more than six million payments on Venmo mentioned Uber in their description during the past year, making integration between the two apps a natural fit.

“Adding Venmo as a way to pay within Uber and Uber Eats furthers our mission to provide a seamless way to pay for the services that matter most to our customers,” said Bill Ready, chief operating officer, PayPal in the press release. “Whether it’s splitting a ride home after a night out, or sharing a meal during a night in, paying with Venmo provides our customers with a convenient and fun way to split and share these experiences with friends.”

According to the companies, customers in the U.S. who are ordering food and rides via Uber will soon be able to pay with their Venmo balance, linked bank account, credit card or debit card, allowing them to split the cost with friends and family in the Venmo app at no extra fee. The companies also said users can share their purchases in their Venmo feeds with custom emojis that are exclusive to the partnership.

“Uber is always looking for unique new ways to provide an even better experience to our customers,” said Marco Mahrus, Uber’s head of payment partnerships, in the same press release. “With so many of our riders and eaters already turning to Venmo as a way to pay a friend back for that last ride or meal, we’re proud to have built a seamless, easy-to-use connection between our apps.”

The deal with Uber comes a few weeks after Venmo announced a Mastercard-branded debit card. The aim, according to the company, is to enable consumers who use Venmo to spend their balances in more places. Any merchant that accepts Mastercard payments will accept the Venmo cards. “Low Venmo balance? We’ll use your linked funding source to reload your Venmo balance so you can make that card purchase,” Venmo said in a statement. “Plus, [the] Venmo card is ATM-friendly in the U.S. for when you have to try that cash-only ramen spot.”