Apple Is Reportedly Working On Its Own Version Of Venmo

On Thursday, news broke that iPhone maker Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is reportedly working on its own version of Venmo, the popular person-to-person payments app owned by PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) , according to Recode.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, Recode says that Apple has apparently been discussing the option with payments industry partners of developing a Venmo competitor, allowing iPhone owners to send money digitally to other iPhone owners.

Venmo has become the go-to payments app for Millennials for almost everything, whether its reimbursing a friend for concert tickets or paying your share of rent or utilities. In the first quarter of 2017, Venmo processed a record $6.8 billion, doubling the amount the company brought in from the prior year period.

Not only would Apple’s new product directly rival Venmo, but it would also compete with Square’s (NYSE:SQ) payments app Square Cash, as well as many offerings from big banks. In particular, JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE:JPM) QuickPay service is a popular option, and processed over $28 billion in transfers last year.

Recode also reported that Apple is talking with Visa (NYSE:V) about making its own pre-paid debit cards. These cards would run on the Visa debit network, and people “would be able to use the Apple cards to spend money sent to them through [Apple’s Venmo-like service].” The cards could be added to Apple Pay’s digital wallet, and be used for tap-and-pay purchases as well, in addition to purchases on websites and in apps.

Apple has been rumored to be working on a peer-to-peer, Venmo-competitor money transfer app since 2015.

Interested in investing in the mobile payments industry? Check out 3 Mobile Payment Stocks to Buy Now as well as this special episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line, where Content Writer Ryan McQueeney and Editor Maddy Johnson were joined by Andrew Chanin, the CEO of PureFunds, to discuss the ISE Mobile Payments ETF IPAY.

IPAY is the world’s first mobile/electronic payments ETF that was created to provide a way to invest in the growing mobile payments industry.

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