Venmo enables users to automatically buy crypto with ‘cash back’ rewards

Paypal-owned payments firm Venmo has launched a new crypto "cash back" feature that includes zero transactions on crypto purchases.

According to the Tuesday announcement, Venmo’s “Cash Back to Crypto” service went live yesterday that enables credit card customers to spend their cash back rewards on digital assets hosted on the platform.

Say hello to Cash Back to Crypto with the Venmo Credit Card, rolling out to eligible cardholders over the coming weeks.Learn more → https://t.co/zvQfMxIZl5 pic.twitter.com/wcroWuaapW

— Venmo (@Venmo) August 10, 2021

Venmo offers its credit card holders between 1% and 3% cash back on select purchases, and the new feature also includes free transactions on any crypto purchases, as conversion fees for swapping between assets are built into each monthly transaction statement

The payments firm currently supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and customers can activate the new feature by selecting the rewards tab of the credit card home screen. Purchases can be done manually or set up automatically. Darrell Esch, senior vice president and general manager of Venmo, said:

"The Cash Back to Crypto feature for the Venmo Credit Card offers customers a new way to start exploring the world of crypto, using their cash back earned each month to automatically and seamlessly purchase one of four cryptocurrencies on Venmo."

Venmo currently has around 70 million users in the United States and the platform initially launched crypto trading in late April this year. According to Paypal’s second-quarter earning’s call on July 28, Venmo’s revenues have grown by 183% year-over-year and there has been strong adoption of crypto trading on the platform.

Related: Alchemy Pay to launch virtual crypto cards with Visa and Mastercard support

Paypal has been actively working to expand its crypto services since it first enabled crypto purchases back in November 2020.

On July 15, Cointelegraph reported that the firm increased purchasing limits of crypto to $100,000 per week. Later in the month during the Q2 conference, the company announced plans to offer crypto trading to United Kingdom customers, while also teasing vague intentions to enter the decentralized finance space.