Venmo for Beginners: a Guide to Money Transfer

Have you ever struggled with splitting bills for utilities, rent, groceries, meals out, or any other? Sometimes using your credit cards each time there’s a petty bill to the foot can be time-consuming and frustrating for both of you.

However, there’s a lovely solution to this. Using Venmo makes paying your partner or friend back much easier.

So, it shouldn’t surprise you that many take advantage of this and its user-friendly interface to manage their utilities and bills easily. Now, let’s find out more about this platform.

What is VENMO?

Venmo is a peer-to-peer payments app that is available for users of iOS and Android. The digital wallet allows you to easily and quickly send money to your friends and contacts.

Also, the app offers several public or semi-public transactions that are similar to a social media feed. The fun part is, users can even like and comment on their transactions for others to see. Most people like to use emojis to communicate their reasons for making payments.

Founded in 2009, Braintree acquired Venmo in 2012. In 2013, PayPal took over the ownership of it and still owns it.

How Does VENMO Work?

Purchases and Transfers.

Venmo allows you to request or send money to and from any other account owner.

The app makes it easy to reimburse your friends or family, especially during dinner outings or others. The wallet is more suitable for transactions with people close to you than strangers.

However, you can also use the app to make purchases on the web from certain merchants. This works well on sites that have a payment button similar to that of PayPal.

Mobile & Website Access

To make payments, you’ve to use their high-quality iOS and Android smartphone apps. Also, you can transact via iMessage or using Siri voice command.

To view your transactions, you can sign into the Venmo website on your mobile device or desktop. However, note that you can’t send or request money on the website.

Limited to U.S. customers.

At the moment, the app allows only people inside the U.S with U.S phone numbers and bank accounts to send or receive money via Venmo.

Benefits of Using VENMO

You may be wondering what benefits you can get other than sending and receiving money using Venmo. The app benefits you and your small business in the following ways:

■ It is free to sign up and use
■ Offers access to over 2 million online retailers who use PayPal
■ Allows customers to receive payments instantly
■ Makes payment more personal and fun
■ Easy and quick to add a bank account or debit card
■ Offers your e-commerce business 2 payment methods; PayPal and Venmo.
■ Safe as it uses the same safeguards as PayPal, one of the safest online platforms to transfer money

How to Create a VENMO Account?

Here are the instructions to follow when signing up your Venmo account:

1. Go to your iOS or Android phone and download the Venmo app.

2. Open the app

3. Select your sign up method, then create a strong password (from 8 to 32 characters).

4. Do your email address and phone number verification

5. Finally, add to link and also verify your bank account

How to Transfer Money from VENMO?

Once you add and verify your bank account on Venmo, it’s set for transactions. Note that it’s very necessary to verify your bank account before transferring funds. Venmo is not responsible for the lost transfers users incur because they filled the wrong bank credentials.

The following are the steps to take when transferring funds to any bank account

1. Go to the top of the Venmo app and click on the “☰” icon.

2. Click on “Transfer to Bank” or “Transfer Money.” Also, you can tap on “Manage Balance” before proceeding to tap “Transfer to Bank.”

3. Now, type in the amount of money you want to transfer to your bank account.

4. Next, click on “Instant” for a small fee to apply. For a no-fee transaction, tap “1-3 Biz Days”. Choose the bank account/debit card you prefer.

5. Finally, confirm your transfer information, and transfer by taping the green “Transfer” button

Venmo will also give you the expected time your bank transfer will reach your bank account. This includes the associated charges if they apply. Please note that transfers get reviewed because they may encounter delays, money blockage, or removal from your account.

Is There a Fee Using VENMO?

Paying a fee or no fee at Venmo depends on the transaction you make. The platform offers its standard services completely free of charge. This implies that most people using Venmo do it cost-free. So, it’s totally free to send cash to friends and family via a debit card or checking account.

However, Venmo charges fees whenever a user processes a transaction using a major credit card. These are the two charges for these types of services:

3% processing fee per transaction for credit card funded payments.

1% processing fee per transaction or at least 25 cents for instant transfers. This applies once you cash out to your debit card from a Venmo balance. These are transfers delivered in half an hour.

Note that with time, these minor service charges could increase. It involves users who engage in multiple payments per day. Take, for example, that you have had dinner out with your friends and have sent your friend a Venmo payment of $10 for your share. Charges for sending that payment will be 30 cents. This fee may seem small, but if you include multiple payments for other similar things like shared beer or movie tickets, it could cost you lots of money.

What is Venmo’s daily transfer limit

If you are a first-time user, you may be wondering “how many Venmo transfers per day can I do?”

To answer that, it doesn’t have any daily transfer limit. But the app limits you to 30 transactions per day.

On the other hand, you will have a weekly spending limit of $299.99 if you haven’t completed the identity verification. Once you verified your identity, your combined spending limit will be $6,999.99.

VENMO vs. PAYPAL

Since PayPal bought Venmo in 2013, the digital platform has become more like PayPal in several aspects. However, differences between the two are many too.

You can find the Venmo pros and cons below:

Venmo Pros:

■ User-friendly
■ Safe and secure
■ Free sign up and use
■ Available for users of iOS and Android
■ Easy to link bank accounts
■ A quick method of sending money to friends and family
■ Allows you to follow contacts, friends and send messages

Venmo Cons:

■ Not incorporated by most businesses for payments
■ Can only send a maximum of $3000 per day
■ Sending payments is limited to Venmo-to-Venmo accounts
■ Only available in the U.S with U.S phone numbers

PayPal Pros:

■ Free sign up
■ User-friendly
■ Very safe and secure
■ Downloadable for iPhone and Android users
■ Accessible in 200 countries
■ Offers discounts and rebates for loyal customers
■ Offers business solutions
■ Can record transactions for bookkeeping

PayPal Cons:

■ You get charged a fee to receive your payments
■ Has an automated account freezing system against suspicious activity
■ With some banks, extra fees apply when transferring money from PayPal
■ Its popularity attracts scams and phishing.

Paypal Vs Venmo: a Comparison Guide

Fees

Creating both PayPal and Venmo accounts is free. However, whether you have to pay a service fee or not, depends on the account you choose. This is one of the areas people look at before choosing which account to open.

As a subscription-based platform, PayPal users pay $5 charges per month to get their basic package. This includes 2.9% and $0.30 for every transaction they make.

Venmo isn’t a subscription model platform. So, using it is free. However, users pay a 3% fee per transfer involving a credit card. Also, you get charged $0.25 for every transfer you make from your balance to your bank account.

Ease of Use

It’s very easy and even fun to do transactions with friends, family, and retailers using Venmo. It doesn’t need a website to send money, using the app is so simple.

However, if you must keep some of your transactions private, choose PayPal. Using PayPal may be relatively less user-friendly, but your transactions all remain private.

International Accessibility

Venmo is only available to users in the U.S. However, PayPal is accessible in 200 countries. This is why PayPal is a better option for people who want to engage in business globally.

Transfer Limits

How much you can transfer per day is a key topic in the comparison between Venmo and PayPal. The daily transfer limit for Venmo users is $3,000, and for PayPal, $10,000.

The former has a smaller limit because it’s mostly used as a personal day-to-day transfer platform. Besides personal transfers, PayPal is huge in local and international business transactions.

Social Networking

Venmo used social networks to make a name. The first users of the platform came from a community Venmo created by requesting them to follow their friends and contacts. To make transactions, you can still send emojis and messages. PayPal isn’t into social networking.

Final Thoughts

Even when legally wed, many couples separate all their expenses down to a dollar. This is where Venmo comes in to simplify the way you manage bills.

So, if you’re in a romantic relationship, a couple, or simply sharing expenses with friends or family, there’s no way around it! Choose Venmo. When it comes to PayPal, using it for household purposes can be challenging.

However, with Venmo, sending and receiving money is instant, easier, and fun. Besides, using the app is also an opportunity for you and your partner to have a real talk about income, expectations, and budget.

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