A new partnership between Venmo and Hallmark is making it easier than ever for consumers to send money digitally to their friends and family for any occasion.
The companies worked together to create physical greeting cards that have unique QR codes inside of them that allow consumers to gift money via Venmo. The new cards blend both physical gifts and digital gifts, without forcing consumers to choose between the two.
“Our new collaboration with Venmo represents an innovative new way to let someone know you’re thinking of them with simple, secure, and seamless cash gifting,” said Darren Abbott, senior vice president of global product development at Hallmark. “Gifting trends are constantly evolving, and we want to stay at the forefront of what consumers need to share thoughtful and unique gifts with the ones they love.”
“The Venmo community has consistently turned to the platform to surprise and delight one another with gifts of money, whether it’s treating a friend their morning coffee, celebrating a birthday, or a random gift of kindness,” said Erika Sanchez, vice president and general manager at Venmo.
“Collaborating with Hallmark not only brings Venmo into the physical gifting space, but also helps connect generations accustomed to giving physical greeting cards with cash to younger generations who are used to having everything digital – like a grandparent sending a birthday gift to their grandchild or a family celebrating a recent graduation.”
How it works
The collaboration between Venmo and Hallmark provides the best of both worlds with physical and digital gifting. The new greeting cards are made for any occasion – weddings, birthdays, holidays, and more – and each one features a unique QR code on the inside of the card.
Those who are gifting the card scan the QR code and are brought to Venmo, where they choose a recipient of their gift, as well as how much they want to send. Then, they leave a little note – just as they would when sending money through Venmo without the card.
For those on the receiving end of the card, they follow a similar process. They scan the QR code on the inside of the card, and they’ll be taken to Venmo to add the gift to their account.
Recipients of Venmo/Hallmark cards have six months to redeem their gifts or gift amounts are automatically returned to the sender.
Gifts are safe and secure
As convenient as these new cards may sound, Venmo and Hallmark have also worked to ensure that gifts are safe and only end up in the hands they belong to. In the event a card is lost or misplaced, gifters shouldn’t worry that someone will steal their money just because they now have access to the QR code.
Gifters have to specifically select their recipient in the Venmo app using the recipient’s Venmo username, phone number, or email address. This ensures that only the intended recipient will have access to the gift – not just anyone who may get access to the QR code.
These new greeting cards will be sold for $4.99, and are currently available at several retail locations, including Walgreens, CVS, Hallmark Gold Crown Stores, local card stores, and other retailers. The cards are also available for purchase online at Hallmark.com.