Venmo

What Venmo does

With Venmo, people can pay friends, purchase from businesses and check out while shopping in apps or on mobile sites. The app also supports shared-expense splitting, scheduled payments, gift cards and payment decorations such as Venmojis and GIFs.

Sole proprietors, occasional sellers and small companies can use business profiles. Those profiles keep commercial and personal activity apart, while a compatible phone can take cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and other digital-wallet payments.

Fees and plans

Personal use has no monthly charge. Funding a payment with your Venmo balance, debit card or bank account is free; a credit card adds 3%. Choosing Instant Transfer adds 1.75%, subject to fees of at least $0.25 and at most $25.

Business profiles do not carry recurring or setup charges. Instead, direct and QR-code payments are priced at 1.9% plus $0.10, while Tap to Pay is 2.9% plus $0.09. Business transaction fees are non-refundable.

Venmo publishes an exchange-rate markup, but these facts do not give the markup amount or a separate exchange fee. Venmo lists automated and live-agent customer service as having no fee.

Where it runs

Venmo provides apps for iPhone and Android, plus web access.

Transfers can be instant, tracked and scheduled. Businesses can place Venmo checkout in their apps or on mobile websites.

Protection, as Venmo describes it

According to Venmo, transaction and account data are encrypted; account activity is monitored for unauthorized transactions; and multifactor authentication plus app PINs are supported.

A purchase that is eligible and marked as a purchase in the app may receive Venmo Purchase Protection. Venmo says transactions between people who do not know one another are outside buyer and seller protection.

Venmo directs customers to its Help Center for support. Under the user agreement, using Venmo services requires being in the United States and having a U.S. bank account.

Strengths

A personal account has no monthly charge, and balance, debit-card or bank-account funding costs nothing. Group expense tools and scheduled payments sit alongside person-to-person transfers.

Businesses can use profiles, checkout integrations and Tap to Pay. Transfer tracking and instant-transfer availability are also published features.

Catches to check

Venmo is available only to people in the United States who have a U.S. bank account. Credit-card funding adds 3%, and Instant Transfer applies a percentage charge with stated minimum and maximum fees.

Business transaction fees are non-refundable. Venmo does not publish the size of its exchange-rate markup here, so the rate should be checked before a currency transaction.

Venmo says buyer or seller protection is unavailable when the other user is unfamiliar. Purchase Protection is limited to eligible payments identified as purchases in the app.

Who may want another option

People located outside the United States, without a U.S. bank account, or seeking buyer or seller protection for routine payments to unknown users may need a different service.

For other approaches, compare peer-to-peer payment apps, digital wallets or money transfer apps.

Verdict

Venmo is suited to U.S. customers seeking a free personal account for paying friends, sharing expenses and using business checkout. Its business profile also enables card and wallet acceptance without recurring or setup charges.

Pricing depends on how a payment is funded: credit cards and instant transfers incur fees, and businesses pay per transaction. Those outside the United States, lacking a U.S. bank account, or requiring protection for unfamiliar-user payments should consider services whose terms cover those circumstances.

Questions