Venmo Five Years Ago • Hacker News Board

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#41

Post by Jtsummers » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:47 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #24

untog wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does require you to walk to the nearest ATM, withdraw the nearest round amount to the amount you need, then somehow try to get change from your friend (or just call it even) then walk around with the remainder. I get what you're saying, but it isn't difficult to see why people find Venom a better option. What is exactly that bad about Venmo having your credit card number? You're protected from fraud anyway.

Write check, friend deposits with mobile check deposit app. Everyone has a bank of some sort, I have yet to meet anyone who is using Venmo.

It's friction. If you have two entities providing the same service (money exchange), but one is easy to use and one is much harder to use, the easier one will win (all other things being equal.

Check method:

  Needed items:
    Payer - checkbook, pen
    Payee - phone

  Steps:
    Payer        Payee
    Write check
    Give check   Receive check
                 Sign check
                 Use app to photograph and submit check

Venmo method:

  Needed items:
    Payer - phone
    Payee - phone

  Steps:
    Payer            Payee
    Send $x to Payee

A similar occurrence in the financial field, mobile banking. Depositing checks via phone is easier than going to an ATM which was easier than making it to a physical branch of the right bank during business hours.

Cash is a better equivalence to Venmo, but only works when you're physically collocated. And then requires one or both parties to carry around cash (and it's not as easy to be precise, if you care about getting it right down to the penny).

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#42

Post by mojowo11 » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:51 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #36

HaloZero wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You then have to write out a check to the right person, the amount, the other person has to sign it and then take two pictures. Venmo just reduces all of that to. Send $10 to X

Perfect example of the HN bubble.

Yep, I bet Venmo processed $1.6 billion in transactions in the last quarter of 2014 entirely from Hacker News users.

EDIT: Oh, apparently we're going to talk about their business model now instead. Jeez, it's hard to keep up.

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#43

Post by superuser2 » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #24

untog wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does require you to walk to the nearest ATM, withdraw the nearest round amount to the amount you need, then somehow try to get change from your friend (or just call it even) then walk around with the remainder. I get what you're saying, but it isn't difficult to see why people find Venom a better option. What is exactly that bad about Venmo having your credit card number? You're protected from fraud anyway.

Write check, friend deposits with mobile check deposit app. Everyone has a bank of some sort, I have yet to meet anyone who is using Venmo.

I have yet to meet anyone under 30 who knows where their checkbook is.

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#44

Post by sithadmin » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

wil421 wrote: post #39

superuser2 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's surprisingly hard to settle a dinner bill between 8 people who only have $20 bills, and no one actually goes inside the bank branch to get other denominations (or buys anything with cash to get change).

Its not very hard to ask for change from a restaurant or get change from a bar later on in the night. If everyone got $20 from the ATM earlier what's to stop them from using their debt card to pay the bill? I was a server for many years and splitting the bill is standard for most younger people.

>Its not very hard to ask for change from a restaurant or get change from a bar later on in the night.

If everyone chips in a $20 or two, but there's a wide spread in min and max spend per person, getting the correct increments of change to distribute to each diner in the party becomes an efficiency nightmare. Nevermind the fact that it's just plain stupid when reasonable alternatives (Venmo, Square Cash, etc.) exist.

>splitting the bill is standard for most younger people

There are many food and drink establishments with a "no splitting of bills, ever" policy. This is more prevalent in some cities than others.

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#45

Post by siong1987 » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:54 PM UTC

superuser2 wrote: post #34

Venmo is an objectively worse experience to Square Cash in every way. Bank accounts rather than debit cards, difficult Facebook-linked discovery, stupid social networking integration, obtuse UI. Square Cash is beautiful, elegant, and effortless. I encourage my friends to use it over Venmo whenever I can. Unfortunately, Venmo is wildly more popular among people I know.

Yes, Square Cash is beautiful but I don't agree with you that the app is elegant and effortless.

3 annoying parts about the app:

- lack of built-in calculator, the Venmo's bulit-in calculator makes it really easy to calculate the split between friends.

- constant prompt for security code in order to pay someone.

- expired requests, there should be a way for me to see all the requests instead of going to each friend page to see the request.

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#46

Post by toomuchtodo » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:56 PM UTC

superuser2 wrote: post #43

toomuchtodo wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Write check, friend deposits with mobile check deposit app. Everyone has a bank of some sort, I have yet to meet anyone who is using Venmo.

I have yet to meet anyone under 30 who knows where their checkbook is.

Meet "the Venmo line":

http://qz.com/277509/read-what-happens-when-a-bunch-of-over-...

Your kid's school doesn't take Venmo for field trips. Or school lunch programs. Or extracurricular activities. That's just to name a few "adult" things Venmo doesn't support, and requires a checkbook.

Great, you can pay friends back for rent, drinks, or eating out. #millenialproblems

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#47

Post by morgante » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:57 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #24

untog wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does require you to walk to the nearest ATM, withdraw the nearest round amount to the amount you need, then somehow try to get change from your friend (or just call it even) then walk around with the remainder. I get what you're saying, but it isn't difficult to see why people find Venom a better option. What is exactly that bad about Venmo having your credit card number? You're protected from fraud anyway.

Write check, friend deposits with mobile check deposit app. Everyone has a bank of some sort, I have yet to meet anyone who is using Venmo.

> I have yet to meet anyone who is using Venmo.

And I have never written a check.

I doubt the people in Venmo's demo even know where their checkbook is, if they have one at all.

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#48

Post by morgante » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 6:57 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #36

HaloZero wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You then have to write out a check to the right person, the amount, the other person has to sign it and then take two pictures. Venmo just reduces all of that to. Send $10 to X

Perfect example of the HN bubble.

You're the on in the bubble. Young people don't write checks. Full stop.

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#49

Post by DanBC » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 7:03 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #24

untog wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it does require you to walk to the nearest ATM, withdraw the nearest round amount to the amount you need, then somehow try to get change from your friend (or just call it even) then walk around with the remainder. I get what you're saying, but it isn't difficult to see why people find Venom a better option. What is exactly that bad about Venmo having your credit card number? You're protected from fraud anyway.

Write check, friend deposits with mobile check deposit app. Everyone has a bank of some sort, I have yet to meet anyone who is using Venmo.

When you say cheque I think "fax", or "betamax" or "pager number".

Re: Venmo Five Years Ago

#50

Post by toomuchtodo » Wed, Oct 21, 2015, 7:03 PM UTC

mojowo11 wrote: post #42

toomuchtodo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perfect example of the HN bubble.

Yep, I bet Venmo processed $1.6 billion in transactions in the last quarter of 2014 entirely from Hacker News users. EDIT: Oh, apparently we're going to talk about their business model now instead. Jeez, it's hard to keep up.

$1.6 billion in transactions, and they're still not profitable (backstopped by Paypal's profits).

Good luck with that long term!