Venmo Debuts College-Themed Debit Card Fleet

Venmo has introduced a line of college-branded card designs for its debit Mastercard.

The new co-branded Venmo Debit Cards — launched in partnership with the Big 12 Conference — will allow students, alumni and fans from participating schools unlock rewards and exclusive access while also celebrating their school pride, the PayPal-owned company said in a Tuesday (July 8) news release.

“Venmo’s origins are on college campuses. It’s where our network took hold. Today, it still plays an integral role in the way millions of college students, athletes, alumni, and fans engage with each other and move money in their daily lives,” PayPal Chief Marketing Officer Geoff Seeley said in the release.

“We’re not just putting logos on debit cards — we’re creating experiences rooted in the passion and community of college sports so people can feel closer to their schools and get rewarded when they spend their Venmo balance.”

The company adds that it has teamed with Big 12 student-athletes NiJaree Canady, Olivia Miles and Sam Leavitt to act as brand ambassadors during the 2025-26 school year, showcasing ways users can spend and earn rewards with the cards.

“Through these partnerships, the student-athletes will receive a portion of their NIL payments into their Venmo account and showcase the ability to seamlessly spend their Venmo balance in meaningful ways beyond peer-to-peer payments,” the release added, referring to the “name, image and likeness” payments college athletes can receive.

The new program comes as debit rewards are enjoying a new lease on life, as PYMNTS wrote recently, thanks to the “continued rise of debit as a preferred method of spending, and the value consumers place on rewards as a way to help manage their day-to-day financial lives.”

PYMNTS Intelligence data has shown that, at the start 2025, “cash on hand” has been a guiding force when making everyday purchases, such as for groceries or relatively smaller retail purchases. For example, 44% of consumers bought their groceries with debit cards, compared with 26% choosing to use credit. In retail settings, the respective percentages were 39% and 30%. Users also say they enjoy debit cards for their convenience.

As that report noted, recent announcements underscore the resurgence of debit rewards, including one by Venmo. Last month the company said that, in an update to its debit card functionality, its card now offers 15% cash back at several retailers, among them Lyft, McDonald’s, Sephora, Walgreens and Walmart. Venmo, as PayPal said in its latest quarterly results, has marked a 40% increase in monthly active cardholders.