Venmo to be officially available for teenagers, although many use it already

Category: Education/Family

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. embrace / ɛmˈbreɪs / (v.) – to enthusiastically accept or support a new idea, belief, theory, etc.
    Example:

    It’s difficult for some people to embrace new technologies.


  2. a good number of / ə ɡʊd ˈnʌm bər ɒv / (idiom) – many
    Example:

    We’re happy that a good number of students joined the book club.


  3. violation / ˌvaɪ əˈleɪ ʃən / (n.) – an action that’s against rules, policies, agreement, etc.
    Example:

    Ignoring traffic signals is a violation of traffic rules.


  4. incur / ɪnˈkɜr / (v.) – to be made to pay money as a result of what someone has done
    Example:

    If you pay using a credit card, you will incur a $2.50 transaction fee.


  5. a nod to (something) / ə nɒd tə / (idiom) – a sign that shows someone is aware of something or that he/she wants to recognize its influence or importance
    Example:

    The band’s new song is a nod to the hardworking public servants of the country.


Article

Read the text below.

Teenagers will officially be allowed to open a Venmo account with their parent’s permission, the company said, expanding the popular social payments app to an age demographic that is likely to embrace it almost immediately.


Using Venmo won’t necessarily be new to a good number of teens — parents often set up accounts for their children through their own accounts, which is a violation of Venmo’s terms of service. There have been guides on the Internet for some time showing parents how to create a child’s account without Venmo penalizing them.


Venmo has been a popular way to send money to individuals for years, and now has more than 90 million users. The product for teens comes at a time when other social apps are being watched closely by politicians and regulators. The state of Montana banned TikTok and other states are considering a ban as well.


The Venmo Teen Account will be available for 13- to 17-year-olds and comes with a debit card as well. Parents will be able to monitor transactions, adjust privacy settings as well as move money to their teenagers. Parents will also be able to lock and unlock the debit card and see who the teenager is sending money to and receiving it from.


Withdrawals from ATMs using the debit card will have a $400 daily limit and users will need to withdraw money from participating ATMs or incur a $2.50 fee. Otherwise, there are no fees attached to creating or maintaining the account.


Venmo acknowledged that opening the service to teenagers was done in response to frequent requests from users over the years, a nod to the fact that teenagers were likely using the service already. The mainstream accounts provide the teenagers with more security and identity verification, and also give them access to the debit card.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Opening the service to teenagers was done in response to frequent requests from users over the years. Why do you think there’s a huge demand to open the service to teenagers? Discuss.
  • Do you think other apps should also have a feature in which parents can monitor how their teenagers are using the apps? Why or why not? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • The company said that teenagers are likely to embrace the social payments app almost immediately. Why do you think the company thought so? Discuss.
  • What other apps do you think teenagers are currently embracing? Why do you think so? Discuss.