3 ms·

* 3% fee for processing credit cards * Platform play where the first stage is to amass users and then use that audience to sell to businesses (https://www.thea

* 3% fee for processing credit cards * Platform play where the first stage is to amass users and then use that audience to sell to businesses (https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/venmo-makes-money-banks/533946/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/venmo-m...) And I always assumed that the short delay for transferring money out of Venmo allowed them to eek a small margin against the time value of money somewhat similar to Robinhood (https://www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/020515/how-robinhood-makes-money.asp https://www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/020515/...)...but I don't know for sure.

tptacek 9y ago
It is a lot easier to avoid paying a fee on Venmo than it is to use a cryptocurrency to send money to someone: just don't use a credit card.
- nwah1 9y ago
  And credit cards are not currency, they are instruments of debt. Debts carry a risk of default. Thus comparing credit card fees to currency transfer fees is not apples-to-apples. Comparing bitcoin to the cost of writing a check is apples-to-apples.
- mr_spothawk 9y ago
  this is absolutely untrue. Venmo requires a bank account, and presumably some proof of citizenship, to have been setup far ahead of the point at which "money" goes into or comes out of Venmo.
  - tptacek 9y ago
    Gajillions of people send money to each other on Venmo, to the point where my parents know what it is. You can't say that about Bitcoin. QED.
    - sudoke 9y ago
      Even more people give each other cash for stuff, to the point where my GRANDparents know what it is. you can't say that about venmo. QED.
- gshulegaard 9y ago
  I think you are taking my response as in the context of Bitcoin. It's not. It was outlining the ways Venmo makes or seeks to make money. Some of which could be considered hidden costs to the user (e.g. transfer delays and the associated opportunity cost/time value of money). I did not mean to make an implication about crytpocurrencies one way or the other.
- proofofmoon 9y ago
  What about in 2023?

tptacek 9y ago

It is a lot easier to avoid paying a fee on Venmo than it is to use a cryptocurrency to send money to someone: just don't use a credit card.

nwah1 9y ago
And credit cards are not currency, they are instruments of debt. Debts carry a risk of default. Thus comparing credit card fees to currency transfer fees is not apples-to-apples. Comparing bitcoin to the cost of writing a check is apples-to-apples.
mr_spothawk 9y ago
this is absolutely untrue. Venmo requires a bank account, and presumably some proof of citizenship, to have been setup far ahead of the point at which "money" goes into or comes out of Venmo.
- tptacek 9y ago
  Gajillions of people send money to each other on Venmo, to the point where my parents know what it is. You can't say that about Bitcoin. QED.
  - sudoke 9y ago
    Even more people give each other cash for stuff, to the point where my GRANDparents know what it is. you can't say that about venmo. QED.
gshulegaard 9y ago
I think you are taking my response as in the context of Bitcoin. It's not. It was outlining the ways Venmo makes or seeks to make money. Some of which could be considered hidden costs to the user (e.g. transfer delays and the associated opportunity cost/time value of money). I did not mean to make an implication about crytpocurrencies one way or the other.
proofofmoon 9y ago
What about in 2023?