Latest news with #Venmo
The Verge
an hour ago
- Business
- The Verge
Want to pay down the national debt? The US government will take Venmo
US national debt currently exceeds $36 trillion, but if you want to toss a few extra dollars of your own money to try and help bring that down, you can now do so from a Venmo account, as spotted by NPR's Jack Corbett. You can see the Venmo payment option on the Treasury Department's 'Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt' website. There are also options to pay from a bank account, a PayPal account, or with a debit or credit card. Based on Wayback Machine archives, it appears that Venmo was added as a payment method sometime after February 22nd. (At that time, an Amazon account was a payment option, which isn't currently available on the site.) Donors have contributed more than $67 million to this program since September 1998, per Treasury Department data. But when the debt grows at 'just under $55,000 a second,' according to Axios, it might take more than Venmo donations to make a significant dent. And after the passage of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, the debt is likely going to get even higher. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jay Peters Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
New York Post
an hour ago
- Business
- New York Post
Venmo, PayPal users can now send money to the US government to help pay down $36.7T national debt
The US Treasury Department is now accepting Venmo and PayPal payments from those who want to donate money to reduce the nation's ballooning $36.7 trillion debt. The digital payment platforms can be used after accessing the 'Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt' page on NPR's Jack Corbett noted. The expansion of payment options comes amid growing public concern over the debt, which has surged from $19.59 trillion in 2010 to its current level, an increase of 87%, according to the Treasury Department. Advertisement The donation program has existed since 1996, with a total of $67.3 million contributed — an amount that remains negligible compared to the federal debt. 3 The federal government has given Americans the option of using Venmo and PayPal to help pay down the national debt. Critics have questioned the value of individual donations toward the national debt. Advertisement Samson Mow, CEO of Bitcoin technology firm JAN3, compared the effort to 'sending Bitcoin to a burn address.' President Donald Trump's recently enacted 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is projected to add an additional $3.4 trillion to the debt over the next decade, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. The legislation prompted a public dispute between Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who criticized the bill for raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. Despite the Treasury's new push for public donations, the scale of the debt continues to raise questions about the sustainability of US fiscal policy and the effectiveness of such symbolic gestures. Advertisement 3 The national debt has ballooned to a record $36.7 trillion as of Friday, according to the Treasury Department. Meanwhile, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio is sounding the alarm, warning that the country is at growing risk of a fiscal crisis unless urgent policy changes are made. Dalio has repeatedly likened the mounting debt to 'plaque in arteries,' cautioning that the cost of servicing the debt is 'severely diminishing purchasing power.' 'We are spending 40% more than our income,' he said, adding that 'we're approaching the point where we may need to borrow just to pay the interest on our existing debt — this is the classic debt death spiral.' Advertisement According to Dalio, the US is approaching an inflection point where debt and interest obligations could crowd out essential government spending. 3 The donation program has existed since 1996, with a total of $67.3 million contributed. But the option to pay through Venmo and PayPal is new. Ascannio – He has called on lawmakers to reduce the budget deficit from approximately 7% of GDP to 3%, a move he believes could be achieved with a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. Dalio expressed concern over weakening investor confidence, citing falling bond sales, a weaker dollar, and rising gold and equity prices. 'Unless the budget deficit is cut to about 3% of GDP, the supply of debt will be much greater than the demand,' he warned, adding that debt service costs will 'severely squeeze out the government's ability to spend.' While he sees a low risk of an immediate crisis, Dalio estimates that the chance of a financial 'trauma' caused by a sudden loss of confidence now exceeds 50% if no action is taken. He has urged bipartisan cooperation, stating that early intervention is 'much cheaper and less painful than waiting for a tipping point.' Advertisement Dalio continues to call for 'bipartisan practicality and collective sacrifice' to stabilize the fiscal trajectory before it becomes unmanageable. The Post has sought comment from the White House and the Treasury Department.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Fold Debit Card Review 2025
The Gemini Credit Card® is a traditional credit card that offers a nice welcome bonus and ongoing ways to earn bitcoin rewards, with impressive rewards rates on categories popular in most people's budgets. Fold charges a fee if you want to earn the highest rewards rates, but there's no annual fee or additional fees to get Gemini's best rates. You can check your eligibility for the Gemini card with no impact on your credit. But if you continue with the application after confirming eligibility, it will require a hard pull on your credit. Note that eligibility does not guarantee final approval. Fold Debit Card * vs. Venmo Credit Card * The Venmo Credit Card * offers custom cash back for your top two eligible spending categories each month. Earn 3% on your top eligible category and 2% on your next category. The list of categories eligible for the best rates is fairly comprehensive. It includes travel, transportation, dining, nightlife, groceries, entertainment, bills and utilities, health and beauty and gas. While the Venmo Credit Card * technically earns cash back, it offers a 'Cashback to Crypto' feature that automatically purchases the cryptocurrency of your choice with cash back you earn on the card. Cryptocurrencies available through Venmo include bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, solana and chainlink. Fold Debit Card * vs. Visa Card * Similar to the Fold card, the Visa Card * is a prepaid card, which means no hard inquiry to your credit. There is a 1% fee to top up your balance, even with a debit card. Topping up with a credit card carries a 2.99% fee, and PayPal has a 2.1% fee. There's no annual fee, but the card does have tiered staking requirements to earn more rewards with a higher lockup. It also has varied ATM, transfer and purchase limits with each card tier. Higher tiers include benefits like airport lounge access, and each level offers varying degrees of Spotify and Netflix subscription rebates.
Times of Oman
13 hours ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Indian users can now pay abroad and on foreign e-commerce sites using UPI via PayPal World
New Delhi: In a major boost to cross-border digital payments, Indian users will now be able to use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make payments internationally through PayPal. The global payments company 'PayPal' has announced the launch of "PayPal World", a new platform that aims to connect the world's largest payment systems and digital wallets. The platform will start by offering interoperability between PayPal and Venmo, and include UPI as part of its initial launch. This means Indian consumers can now shop from international merchants and pay using the UPI option they are already familiar with. For example, an Indian user browsing an online store in the United States to buy a pair of sneakers will now see a UPI button after clicking the PayPal option at checkout. This allows them to complete the transaction using their UPI account, just as they would for any domestic payment. Ritesh Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI International Payments Limited, welcomed the development. He said, "The integration of UPI on PayPal World's platform will mark a significant step in expanding UPI's global footprint. It aligns with our vision to make cross-border payments more seamless, secure, and inclusive. This collaboration will enhance convenience for Indian users making payments abroad and enable global businesses and merchants to tap into a growing base of UPI users." The company stated that collaboration includes global partners representing nearly two billion users worldwide. These include Mercado Pago (MOU signed, further details being scoped), NPCI International Payments Limited (UPI), PayPal, Tenpay Global, and Venmo. The platform also benefits users from other countries. For instance, a PayPal user travelling to China can make payments at a cafe that accepts Weixin Pay simply by scanning the code using their PayPal app. Similarly, a Venmo user in the US can send money to a friend in Germany by typing in the phone number and selecting the PayPal wallet. This step marks a new beginning for global digital payments, especially for Indian users who rely heavily on UPI for everyday transactions. With PayPal World, sending money or shopping across borders will be easier than ever. (ANI)
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
PayPal Taps New Markets: Will Interoperability Fuel Its Growth?
PayPal Holdings' PYPL launch of PayPal World this fall marks a pivotal shift toward global wallet interoperability. The platform will initially unite PayPal, Venmo, Mercado Pago, NPCI's UPI and Tenpay Global under a cloud native, API framework, facilitating nearly two billion users. By enabling UPI or Weixin Pay users to check out via a familiar PayPal button, the move aims at reducing friction for cross border this seamless Venmo-PayPal interoperability, for the first time, peer to peer transfers can flow globally, and by 2026, Venmo holders will be able to shop in-store and online at PayPal enabled merchants. The move is a smart one as PayPal is blending consumer reach with merchant acceptance, augmenting its 'branded checkout' promise and tapping into Venmo's younger base with real commerce platform's readiness for agentic, AI driven buying (shopping via chat assistants) and future stablecoin support signals forward thinking. Competitors focused solely on wallet-to-wallet payments may struggle to match this breadth, positioning PayPal ahead in emerging commerce is pushing forward with a multi-pronged transformation. The company is transitioning from a transactional payment provider to a holistic commerce partner by consolidating its services into a single PayPal platform to harness the full potential of its two-sided network, supporting both consumers and merchants. Focusing on improving user experience, enhancing merchant relationships and expanding international capabilities are the key moves that could unlock long-term growth. How Are V and GPN Scaling Up Cross-Border Payments? Visa's V network powers more than 4.8 billion credentials and 300 billion transactions annually across 150 million merchant locations, leveraging its 'Visa as a Service" stack to deliver modular APIs for fraud, stablecoins, digital identity, AI driven payments and small seller acceptance. Its Commercial & Money Movement and Value added Services continue to drive growth while expanding in cross border payment Payments Inc. GPN is streamlining its global commerce operations with a renewed focus on omnichannel merchant services. Key efforts of Global Payments include the rollout of its Genius POS platform, integration of Worldpay and unified API capabilities. These efforts of Global Payments aim to modernize commerce infrastructure, improve scalability, and expand global reach across in-person, online and omnichannel payment experiences. PYPL's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Shares of PayPal have declined 10.2% year to date, underperforming both the broader industry as well as the S&P 500 composite. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, PayPal shares are trading cheap, as suggested by the Value Score of A. In terms of forward 12-month P/E, PYPL stock is trading at 14.14X compared with the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry's 22.13X. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research PayPal's estimate revisions reflect a positive trend. Estimates for second-quarter and full-year 2025 and full-year 2026 EPS have been revised upward over the past month. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS suggests 9.5% growth year over year, while the same for 2026 calls for 11.5% growth year over year. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research At present, PayPal carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Visa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis Report Global Payments Inc. (GPN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
