Hallmark Launches Cards With Venmo Gifting Capabilities

Venmo users who regularly use the app to gift money can now do so with an accompanying physical Hallmark card, the two companies announced Wednesday. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the PayPal-owned digital payment platform Venmo and the greeting card company Hallmark are giving customers a new, unique way of giving gifts.

Here's how it works:

• Customers choose a Hallmark + Venmo card, available for $4.99 at thousands of retail locations, including CVS and Walgreens.
• The purchaser then scans the unique Venmo QR code in the card with their phone's camera, which opens the Venmo app.
• The customer is then prompted to search for the recipient within the Venmo app, then enter the amount they would like to gift and a payment note.
• Once the payment is confirmed, the payment is pending until the recipient also scans the QR code. The recipient will have 180 days to redeem the Venmo money, otherwise it's returned to the gift-giver's Venmo account.

Total Retail's Take: As Erika Sanchez, Venmo's vice president and general manager, notes in the press release, this collaboration helps Venmo enter the physical gifting space while also connecting several generations — those accustomed to gifting physical greeting cards with cash or checks, and those used to having everything digital. Creating convenience for the customer is a key purchase consideration for today's consumers; this partnership between Venmo and Hallmark is reflective of that trend. The two company's complementary products and services are a natural fit for a bundled offering. Credit to both companies for finding a way to make it easy for the consumer to gift physical cards and digital funds at the same time.