Venmo’s biggest makeover in years comes at a very interesting time
Venmo’s biggest makeover in years comes at a very interesting time
Venmo 多年来最大规模的改版，时机耐人寻味
Venmo is rolling out a significant redesign over the coming months that aims to make the app more useful, social, and easier to navigate. This is the peer-to-peer payments app’s biggest refresh since 2021. Venmo 将在未来几个月内推出重大改版，旨在让这款应用变得更实用、更具社交属性且更易于导航。这是该点对点支付应用自 2021 年以来的最大规模更新。
The timing is notable. PayPal, which owns Venmo, is restructuring to spin Venmo off as a stand-alone business unit — a move widely seen as laying the groundwork for a potential sale. Stripe has reportedly expressed interest in buying PayPal outright. In that context, a splashy redesign looks less like a routine update and more like a window-dressing job ahead of a transaction. 此次改版的时机值得玩味。Venmo 的母公司 PayPal 正在进行重组，计划将 Venmo 分拆为独立的业务部门——此举被广泛视为在为潜在的出售铺路。据报道，Stripe 已表示有兴趣全资收购 PayPal。在此背景下，这次大张旗鼓的改版看起来不像是一次例行更新，更像是交易前的“门面装修”。
The rollout will begin this week, followed by additional features over the next few months. The entire redesign is expected to be available to all users by this fall. 此次更新将于本周开始分阶段推出，后续几个月还将增加更多功能。预计到今年秋季，所有用户都将用上全新的设计。
One of the first changes users will notice starting this week is the revamped feed. Where it once showed a simple list of who paid who — with GIFs, a heart button, and comments — the new feed will feature a wider variety of visuals and larger images, along with more ways to respond to payments, such as reactions and quick action buttons like “Pay Again” and “Say Thanks.” It’ll also be more personalized, surfacing tailored cashback offers from brands you shop from and product suggestions based on previous purchases. 用户本周首先会注意到的变化是信息流（feed）的改版。过去，这里只显示简单的转账记录列表，配有 GIF、点赞按钮和评论；而新的信息流将呈现更丰富的视觉效果和更大的图片，并提供更多互动方式，例如表情回应以及“再次支付”和“说声谢谢”等快捷操作按钮。它还将更加个性化，根据你的购物习惯推送定制的返现优惠，并基于过往购买记录提供产品建议。
Image Credits: Venmo 图片来源：Venmo
Another addition is the ability for users to endorse their favorite local businesses directly through the app. A new “Give a Shoutout” button will be available under payments in the feed. As Alexis Sowa, Venmo’s senior vice president and general manager, explained to TechCrunch, “One of the things that we hear a lot, especially from Gen Z and younger audiences, is a real desire to support and endorse local businesses or merchants that they like. With this feed redesign, we’re giving an opportunity for them to share what we call social proofing. In the future, you will be able to kind of endorse that business — give a thumbs-up, almost to say, ‘I go to you.’” 另一项新增功能是用户可以直接通过应用为自己喜爱的本地商家背书。在信息流的支付记录下方，将新增一个“Give a Shoutout”（点赞/推荐）按钮。正如 Venmo 高级副总裁兼总经理 Alexis Sowa 向 TechCrunch 解释的那样：“我们经常听到，尤其是来自 Z 世代和年轻受众的声音，他们非常渴望支持和推荐自己喜欢的本地商家。通过这次信息流改版，我们为他们提供了一个分享所谓‘社会证明’的机会。未来，你将能够为该商家背书——点个赞，就像是在说：‘我是你们的常客。’”
Image Credits: Venmo 图片来源：Venmo
Two new tabs, “Send” and “Money,” will also launch in the next few months. In the Send feed, your most frequent contacts now appear as a row of profile icons front and center, instead of requiring you to dig through past contacts or user names. The bill-splitting “Groups” feature is now easier to access, too, letting users split expenses with up to 30 people. You can also send gifts to friends and schedule payments in the Send section. 未来几个月内，应用还将新增“发送”（Send）和“资金”（Money）两个标签页。在“发送”页面中，你最常联系的人将以一排头像的形式显示在正中央，无需再费力翻找过往联系人或用户名。账单拆分功能“群组”（Groups）也变得更易于访问，允许用户与最多 30 人分摊费用。此外，你还可以在“发送”板块向朋友发送礼物并预约支付。
The Money tab, meanwhile, is where you can manage your expenses and access Teen Accounts and Crypto. There will also be a new Rewards tab that pulls all limited-time offers in one place. This is also where Venmo’s Stash program will live. Launched last November, this gives users up to 5% cash back when they shop with their favorite brands in the app, money that’s deposited directly to their Venmo Mastercard Debit Card. 与此同时，“资金”标签页则是管理支出、访问青少年账户（Teen Accounts）和加密货币的地方。此外，还将新增一个“奖励”（Rewards）标签页，将所有限时优惠汇集在一起。Venmo 的 Stash 项目也将整合在此。该项目于去年 11 月推出，用户在应用内通过喜爱的品牌购物时可获得最高 5% 的返现，返现金额将直接存入他们的 Venmo 万事达借记卡。
Sowa said the redesign came out of a year of user research and that “one of the biggest insights is how many features and functionalities we have that [customers] just have no idea exist in the app.” Sowa 表示，此次改版源于为期一年的用户调研，其中“最大的发现之一是，我们应用中有很多功能，用户根本不知道它们的存在。”
The update reflects a broader trend in what younger users expect from payment apps — less utility tool, more social platform. For instance, apps like Verse and Daylight offer features that let users keep up with their friends’ spending behavior, and the European fintech app Revolut offers features like group bill splitting and in-app chat. Venmo’s core audience increasingly wants to see and share financial activity the way they would on any other feed, and the app is clearly trying to meet that expectation before a potential new owner comes knocking. 这次更新反映了年轻用户对支付应用期望的更广泛趋势——即减少工具属性，增加社交属性。例如，Verse 和 Daylight 等应用提供了让用户了解朋友消费行为的功能，而欧洲金融科技应用 Revolut 则提供了群组账单拆分和应用内聊天等功能。Venmo 的核心用户群越来越希望像在其他社交信息流上一样查看和分享财务动态，而该应用显然正试图在潜在的新东家到来之前满足这一期望。