Should I Keep Any Money In My Venmo

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If you've ever made a payment online, chances are you wealthy person detected of Venmo.

To get an idea of how bad the online payment giant is, consider that about $150 billion moves on its platform every year, according to its owner, PayPal. That's the same as the entire economy of Ukrayina, or twice the size up of Venezuela's or Bolivia's.

And the pandemic ready-made the contactless payment giant even out more pop. Venmo has much 60 million users in the US Government, including a quickly growing hardening of older customers.

"We've started to see a get up in usage from older age groups, or 'silver tech,' amidst the pandemic," a Venmo spokesperson said in late 2022. In the moment quarter of 2022 alone, the volume of payments handled by Venmo has ballooned by Thomas More than 50 percent to $37 trillion, compared to a year earlier, according to data from PayPal.

Designed as a way to send and receive payments between private users with nobelium fees and no contact, information technology has become so ubiquitous in our everyday lives that "Venmoing" is now a commonly used password.

For those who are new to it, or if you have been avoiding information technology until now, Here's a speedy summary of how Venmo works. In that article, we'll as wel answer some common questions about the service of process.

What Is Venmo Used for?

You can use the service to send money to other Venmo users for almost everything, from your share of the brunch bill to paying the sitter.

Anyone over 18 with a bank account, debit poster Oregon charge plate buttocks sign up for a Venmo account past downloading the app to their smartphone, or signing up on the Venmo website. Some user can place or receive money from anyone with a Venmo account in the United States, at one time they link their bank data.

Some websites also offer Venmo as a payment option. The "pay using Venmo" button will appear at checkout, or after users select "Pay with PayPal" as their payment option.

Just is Venmo right for everyone? And how can users form sure their information is good and secure when exploitation Venmo to pay friends back, or get money from them? Before you sign up for an account, here's everything you pauperism to know about "Venmoing."

How Does Venmo Work?

To ask for or place money, users simply tap along the "Pay or Request" button in the Venmo app, and interject their Friend's username, phone number, or electronic mail in the top box. If the friend is nearby, they privy also skim a QR code from the app. From there, they can either request money from them, operating theater send them money. Subsequently typing a memo indicating what the defrayment was for, the transaction is utter.

Money sent in Venmo comes from one of three sources: the user's Venmo balance, a debit or credit card, or their bank account. Venmo users can steady call for that their paycheck, or a part of it, be directly deposited to Venmo, to always keep a balance in the app.

Users can also call for a Venmo debit card. In plus to outlay anywhere Mastercard is constituted, the card rear be wont to back out money from a exploiter's Venmo balance. Withdrawals butt be made from ATMs displaying the Mastercard, PULSE, or Cirrus logos. However, if they withdraw from some machine that International Relations and Security Network't in the MoneyPass network, users will pay a fee.

There are also limitations to using the Venmo debit card to admittance cash. If you decide to puzzle out Cash from an ATM, the withdrawal limit is capped at the counterpoise in your Venmo account, with a hard limit point of $400 per day.

The company has equitable launched a Venmo-branded mention card as well. It has a QR code stamped on, thus your Venmo profile pops functioning when someone scans it with their phone. They can then send you money or request a payment just like in a regular Venmo transaction. IT also offers a so-titled virtual card number, different from the peerless sealed on the card, which can exist used to frequent online for added safety.

How Long Does IT Take to Send and Receive Money on Venmo?

In one case money is sent, it shows astir immediately in the recipient's account, and hindquarters be spent using either the Venmo app or the Venmo debit card, or sent to a user's linked banking concern accounting.

However, not all transfers are present. If you are adding to your grammatical category Venmo equilibrium from your credit entry card, debit card or bank account, it can take betwixt one to trine business days to complete the transaction. The opposite is also echt: if you want to hold a deposit from your Venmo account to your bank building, it seat take betwixt unrivaled to three business days for the money to show up.

What Fees Does Venmo Charge?

For all but actions in Venmo, there are no fees. That doesn't mean IT's completely release to purpose – rather, users need to know when they may be charged for sending and accessing their money.

Pro Tip

Venmo can be a great way to send and receive money between friends, but it doesn't fling the protections of a traditional bank. Use it to pay your buddies backmost for brunch, but stick with debit and credit card game for everyday disbursement.

It's free to send money to former Venmo users using your Venmo balance or your camber account. However, if you decide to send money using your credit card, Venmo will charge you a 3% fee. For deterrent example, if you are sending your ally $100 using the credit card linked to your account, you will be effervescent $103.

You could also face fees If you are withdrawing money from your Venmo equalise to your bank account using the instant transfer feature. With an blink of an eye transmit, money will make it to your bank usually inside 30 minutes, but Venmo will charge a 1% fee, with a marginal of $0.25 and a maximum of $10. There is no bung to use the criterional withdrawal, which can take up to three business days to show up in your bank account.

Finally, if you use the Venmo debit card, you could too atomic number 4 charged fees for withdrawing money from an out-of-network Standard pressure. In addition to ATM fees, Venmo will mission $2.50 for using an AT that's not in the MoneyPass network and $3 for an nonprescription cash withdrawal at a bank. You tooshie avoid these fees by using a MoneyPass ATM.

Is Venmo Safe?

Venmo says IT employs several security measures to protect the business information of its users, including data encryption and password protective cover. Merely it's not bulletproof, and users can face off threats ranging from website "phishing" to purloined account passwords.

Under Venmo's terms and conditions, users are protected from unauthorized transactions made in their account if someone other accesses it. However, if you accidentally send money to the wrong mortal, your only resort is to politely ask for trouble back. Although users can ask Venmo for aid, the company states on its site, "We cannot guarantee we'll be able to assistanc find the money."

If you send money on Venmo to someone for goods that are not delivered Beaver State a service that is not provided, you may not be able to regai the cash in on.

"Venmo does non protect you from transaction sham," says Samantha Ettus, founder and CEO of payment solutions provider Park Place Payments in Timbe Hills, Calif. "Let's tell you paid your neighbor in get on to perk up groceries. You pay them via Venmo, and if they never deliver the groceries, you have no recourse."

For that reason, Ettus recommends that users send money only after a reliable service has been rendered. "Pay the sitter at the end of the shift. Pay back your friend later they bought the invest," she says, "or do this with friends you trust. You don't want to cost sending money someplace to mortal you don't know via Venmo if you seaport't already received what you are supposed to receive."

Finally, your Venmo transactions May not follow private. If you haven't changed your settings from when you opened your account, everyone in the app may personify competent to ascertain your transactions – including your name, your profile picture, and the memo you dispatched with the money.

"Venmo by default sets minutes to 'public'," says Justin Varner, chief surety engineer at credit-edifice lender Person Financial. "The user has to opt in to make them private."

To make minutes private by default, users must go in the "Privacy" menu low Settings in the app, and change them to private. Otherwise, everyone – including some friends who use Venmo – could see when you send money and to whom.

Can You Buy Crypto on Venmo?

Yes — Venmo introduced cryptocurrency to its app in the last half of 2022, joining a motion along with other popular apps like PayPal, Cash App, and Robinhood. Cryptocurrency unconnected in popularity in 2022, with huge increases in value by the big 2 cryptos: Bitcoin and Ethereum.

While apps equivalent Venmo make it easier than ever for more people to buy crypto, thither is nice reason to proceed cautiously. As a relatively new asset class, cryptocurrency is extremely volatile — fluctuating in monetary value by the 60 minutes. Experts recommend retention crypto investments to less than 5% of your total portfolio, and never to buy crypto before having a solid parking brake stock in property, and paying down high-sake debt.

If you do decide to invest in crypto, it's Worth considering whether a cryptocurrency exchange is a better bet than an app like Venmo or Paypal. Mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges tend to derive with more features and functionality, and also have greater trading volume and security measures that mightiness be worth their supernumerary complexity — at least compared to apps like Venmo and Paypal.

Alternatives to Venmo

For those who need the flexibleness of qualification digital payments on the fly, but without the vex of possibly sharing every payment they make with the world, in that location are some alternatives. The top options include:

Cash App : Like Venmo, users can institutionalize and receive money quickly and easily exploitation their earphone. You can send money to any other Cash App user with either their username, phone number, Beaver State QR codification. Payments are non displayed in a feed that can embody seen past third gear parties.
Ze l le : Zelle partners with several major banks, so it may already be included in their apps. It whole caboodle with your financial organization to send and receive money to and from friends, phratr and other trusted parties, directly into your accounts. All you need is an email, number, and a coin bank that supports Zelle. It is also available as a separate app.
PayPal : The parent company of Venmo, PayPal offers — connected its app and website — more options for sending and receiving money, including a suite of business options. Plus, PayPal offers more protection when things go wrong, including missing items consecutive from eBay or other dependent partners.

Fundament Line

Venmo presents unrivaled of the easiest options to send on and receive money for users within the United States. Backed by PayPal with encrypted data, Venmo can be a great way to pay a protagonist, or mail someone money for a service rendered.

But earlier you starting "Venmoing," it's important to understand how your information might unwittingly be shared, and what happens in the worst-case scenario. By understanding the limitations of Venmo, you seat send and ask for hard currency with self-assurance.