Mobile Payment Apps Increasingly Replacing Cash on Campus
Students at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) and many other college campuses are opting to use mobile payment applications rather than cash for all of their purchases. “It’s changed the way we go out,” says LMU student Dillon Siler. “Even interacting with friends. It just makes life a lot easier.” PayPal’s Venmo is one of more popular campus payment apps, while other major players such as Google and most large banks are investing heavily in smartphone-based payments. Venmo transactions are “really convenient between me and my roommates, because nobody really carries cash around that much anymore,” notes LMU student Daralyn Kee Chong. Tying the Venmo app to a bank or debit card allows payments with no attached fees, while credit card payments via Venmo carry a 3 percent processing fee. Venmo generated $314 million in sales in the first quarter of 2014, a 62 percent gain over the last quarter. IDC forecasts $1 billion in mobile payments by 2017.
From “Mobile Apps Replace Cash on Campus”
USA Today (05/22/14) Graham, Jefferson