Amazon is breaking up with Venmo — as a method of payment for its customers.
Venmo on Thursday said that Amazon will cease accepting the peer-to-peer payment exchange service starting January 10, 2024. You’re no longer able to add Venmo as a payment method.
It’s a sudden reversal for Amazon, which began accepting Venmo a little over a year ago in October 2022. No reason was given by Venmo for the move, and an Amazon spokeswoman didn’t elaborate beyond confirming the move.
“Starting January 10, 2024, Venmo will no longer be accepted on Amazon.com or the Amazon mobile app,” she said. “Customers can still use nearly a dozen other payment options, such as debit cards, credit cards, checking accounts, or installments to pay for their orders.”
The Amazon deal was originally an attempt by Venmo to grow beyond individuals exchanging money with each other on their phones. By enabling payments on Amazon, it could generate revenue from the transaction fees related to the purchase.
The mobile payment service quickly blew up after launching in 2009, giving users an easy way to transfer money between each other, all with a social feed complete with emojis. Cutting into its business were the U.S. banks, which partnered on their own money transfer service called Zelle, which essentially did the same thing.
One of the downsides of Venmo is the lack of protection if you end up transferring money to a scammer, something Zelle offers.