I don't think it's bad at all. You're right that it does exactly what it says it does and that's cool, but that doesn't make it impressive.

It's not particularly well designed, I don't know why there's a social dimension to it, etc. I don't think every product needs to be impressive and I don't mean it as a dig on Venmo. Just that if there IS a way to fill this niche in an "impressive" way, Venmo isn't it.

Edit: Actually Square Cash is pretty damn impressive. Emailing cash instantly with no need for accounts? That's baller.