Apple Announces What Could Be A Venmo Killer: Will It Compete?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced its latest payment feature, which will make the tech behemoth a major competitor in the growing peer-to-peer payments industry.

The feature will enable Apple to compete head to head against the industry’s most dominant player, Venmo (acquired by Braintree,
which was then in turn acquired by PayPal Holding Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL)).

Person to person payment via #ApplePay. Venmo should be worried. #wwdc2017 pic.twitter.com/LTtOwrAouI

— David J McMichael (@_DavidMcMichael) June 5, 2017

Venmo Vs. Apple Pay: A Head-To-Head Battle

Convenience

Winner: Venmo’s universal accessibility for both Android and iPhone users and its social-media-esque newsfeed gives it the upper-edge.

Fees

Winner: Apple Pay. You cannot beat free.

Security

While the mobile payment industry is not 100 percent safe, both Venmo and Apple Pay are compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Level 1 form. This is the same security standard used by all major credit card companies. This means both services use bank-level security and data encryption to protects its clients.

Both services should be almost as safe as using a credit or debit card at a store.

Overall Winner: Venmo

While Apple Pay might attract some of Venmo’s users, it is hard seeing them competing with the current industry leader, Venmo. Currently, most Venmo users are able to avoid fees by linking their account to their debit card, and it is extremely valuable that the system can be used by both Apple and Android users. A PayPal spokesman told Fortune he was not even alarmed by the announcement of Apple’s new P2P feature, "As the world’s leading open digital payments platform, we welcome any developments that help people move away from the awkwardness of cash."

Related Links:

Everything You Need To Know From Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2017 Keynote Address

Time To Cash In On Venmo?
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Image Credit: Compiled from 1) By Originally Venmo, derivative work by User:ContinueWithCaution (Venmo) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons and 2)Original logo by Apple Inc. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons