Review: Does Venmo Touch on a New Aspect of Small Business Finance?

Trust is a big issue when it comes to small business. Imagine the quality of customer retention when businesses rely on “trust” in dealing with finances and payments. That’s what Venmo seeks to attempt — and this is an Android and iPhone app we’re looking at. Okay, wait a second…. What about apps like iSwipe, Square, even PayPal?

They’ve pretty much got the whole mobile payment thing down pat pretty nice. What can this app named Venmo do for small businesses?

What Venmo Is All About

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This is a tricky review. I’ve got to be honest with you.

Why? Because the main point of Venmo was simply to offer a more social aspect between mobile money. If a friend wanted to gift another friend some money, that friend could do it easily with the use of Venmo. And it happens literally in moments.

There’s no delay, no authorization, nothing, not like in PayPal where you have to wait a few days before it shows up in the account.

Thanks to Venmo, users can simply send ‘texts’ with the money amounts, and within moments the other user has that money in the account.

That’s convenience!

It utilizes an effective social mindset through text-style to make payments easier. That’s something falling in line with every auto attendant and call center — efficiency, convenience. Fast. Oh, and let’s not forget that it’s free!

Hold on a Second, Though….

Is Venmo really good for business? Can entrepreneurs really use this “trusty” version of payments?

Part of the reason why such services like PayPal, iSwipe, and Square are so reliable is the amount of security involved. The idea that you can walk into a restaurant, eat your food, and simply walk out knowing the restaurant has access to your Venmo account is a shaky idea (but convenient, obviously).

In fact, there is such a restaurant utilizing Venmo as a source of financial management. Customers come in, hand over the access of their Venmo accounts and everything’s good to go. The restaurant’s called The Simple Kitchen. I’ve heard it’s a great restaurant.

But is the small business arena ready for that kind of thing? Typically, when it comes to entrepreneurs, contractors, that sort of thing, the idea that someone can pass you money (or vice versa) with a simple text is sort of scary! There’s no accountability. There’s no ability to ‘invoice.’ It’s basically a text service! That’s really all it is!

Still, Maybe the Industry Is Ready for This Sort of Thing

That makes for good business, though — especially when it concerns entrepreneurs. Business relations are very much like social relations. You have good rapport, maybe even a good ‘friendship,’ you have a long-lasting client on your hands. In effect, that’s small business 101. If you’re able to be a human being and relate to another, you’re actually quite the amazing salesperson!

That’s what Venmo seeks to accomplish with small businesses. A sense of trust. A deeper level of customer management. The idea of this revolutionary…idea…really does make me hungry, though!

How about some Simple Kitchen for lunch? You pay. Through Venmo.

Related Keywords: Freshbooks, receipt, inventory