Venmo is getting its first big redesign, and it’s finally fixing this annoying feature
Venmo is getting its first full app overhaul since its inception in 2009, and it’s addressing some major UX issues that have made using the platform feel like the digital equivalent of flipping through a phone book. When Venmo was launched, it was a breath of fresh air in the finance space. It stood out for its social network-style approach to bill splitting and rent requests. Since then, though, Venmo’s aspirations have far outgrown its app interface. In the first quarter of 2025, Pay Pal (Venmo’s parent company) shared that Venmo’s revenue had grown 20% year-over-year, with total payment volume up 10%. According to Alexis Sowa, Venmo’s SVP and general manager, the app boasts over 100 million active accounts and 67 million monthly active users, with the average user visiting the app 10 times per month. That user behavior reflects a broader effort at Venmo; the brand has spent the last several years shifting from an occasional peer-to-peer money lending service to a more all-encompassing financial tool. In 2018, the company introduced a debit card feature that took it from an app to part of users’ wallets, which it has since expanded through partnerships with retailers like TikTok Shop, Uber, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and more. And, last fall, Venmo debuted its own rewards program to keep users engaging with the platform. Venmo is expanding its capabilities to become an everyday payment method. For users, though, many of those updates have gotten buried in the app’s archaic, scattered design. Finally, it’s getting a facelift that brings its UX out of the 2010s—and fixes one of its most perennially irritating features. [Image: Venmo] Venmo’s complicated design web Sowa and her team have spent the last year interviewing customers to learn how they use Venmo, which features they like the most, and where they’re experiencing the biggest sticking points on the app. Their biggest learning, she says, was how many new Venmo features customers simply don’t know about—or can’t fi