Venmo unveiled a new credit card rewards program this week that pays cardholders 4% cash back on dining and entertainment—but only if their friends actually pay them back within 30 days. To guarantee that outcome, the company has begun stationing uniformed «settlement specialists» at restaurant tables across the country, where they stand silently behind diners who owe money until the debt is cleared.
The program, called «split-to-earn,» requires cardholders to front the entire bill, then request repayment through the app. If friends fail to pay within the 30-day window, Venmo dispatches a second team of «reconciliation agents» who follow the debtor to work, to the gym, and to their mother's house, holding a tablet displaying the outstanding balance and a countdown timer.
«We built split-to-earn around how customers actually live,» said Alexis Sowa, general manager of Venmo, in a statement. «If that means a man in a Venmo windbreaker stands behind your friend at brunch until he Venmos you $43.50, then that is the social spending ecosystem we believe in.»
By the second week, restaurants in several cities had added «Venmo enforcement sections»—tables positioned near the kitchen where agents can monitor multiple debtors at once. Some establishments now charge a separate «collections surcharge» for parties larger than four. Venmo says more than 100 million Americans use the service, and the company projects that within six months, every unpaid dinner debt will be pursued by a dedicated agent assigned to a single debtor for the full 30 days.