PayPal-owned app links card spend to gameday rewards and athlete partnerships in bid to deepen campus penetration
Venmo has unveiled a new co-branded debit card initiative in collaboration with the Big 12 Conference, marking an attempt to merge consumer loyalty, collegiate sports fandom, and everyday payments in a single product.
The launch, announced July 7, includes new designs for the Venmo Debit Mastercard featuring Big 12 school insignias and colours, aimed at students, alumni, and sports fans across the United States.
Available for pre-registration from August 11, the cards will offer limited-time cashback offers, merchandise giveaways, gameday upgrades and other promotional perks during the 2025–26 academic year. Physical cards are due to ship in September, while virtual cards will be issued upon sign-up.
The initiative positions Venmo as an increasingly consumer-facing brand with ambitions beyond peer-to-peer transfers. Owned by PayPal, the platform has been exploring new formats for monetising its sizeable Gen Z and millennial user base. By partnering with a major sports league and activating Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) collaborations with student-athletes, it is taking cues from sectors such as fashion and entertainment, where brand engagement often drives product adoption.
“Venmo’s origins are on college campuses. It still plays an integral role in the way millions of college students, athletes, alumni and fans engage with each other and move money,” said Geoff Seeley, PayPal’s Chief Marketing Officer. “We’re not just putting logos on debit cards — we’re creating experiences rooted in the passion and community of college sports.”
Student-athletes from Texas Tech, TCU and Arizona State have been signed as ambassadors, with NIL payments from Venmo reportedly landing directly into their Venmo accounts. The athletes will use their own platforms to demonstrate use cases for the card and to promote financial empowerment within collegiate communities.
The Big 12 card initiative comes at a time when consumer financial brands are increasingly seeking ways to personalise products and create more emotionally resonant experiences. While loyalty schemes and cashback mechanics are common in the retail sector, traditional financial services have often lagged behind in building strong brand affinity.
The move suggests that PayPal is leaning into branding strategies more often associated with high-street fashion, sportswear, or streaming platforms, where identity and lifestyle alignment are as critical as product function. While branded credit cards have existed for decades – particularly among airlines, hotels and retailers – the Venmo launch attempts to tie everyday debit card usage with gameday culture, campus identity and social engagement.
For the Big 12, which is entering its 30th year and has undergone considerable realignment in recent seasons, the partnership also reflects a broader shift in how collegiate sports brands are commercialising fan engagement. The conference is increasingly embracing media, marketing and revenue-share deals in response to a fragmented broadcast and sponsorship landscape.
Venmo’s challenge will be to demonstrate that co-branded cards can drive meaningful new usage and not just serve as vanity extensions. Despite increased digital wallet adoption among younger users, uptake of branded debit cards in the financial services space has historically had mixed results, particularly where ongoing user engagement has been poor.
Still, as the line between brand, behaviour and financial tool continues to blur, Venmo’s foray into physical and virtual card branding could signal a new frontier in payment personalisation.
The cards will be made available to students and fans from schools including Arizona, Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah and West Virginia. A generic Big 12 Conference version will also be issued for fans not affiliated with a single school.
The product will be issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. in partnership with Mastercard.
