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Bottom line: Venmo is the payment app of selection for sending money to friends and family unit. It'due south widely used, you can send money by whichever payment method you lot want, and recipients become funds instantly.

Our in-depth Venmo review will embrace more details the app'due south features so yous can make up one's mind if information technology'south the right option for you.

Venmo

Best payments app overallVenmo

Full Venmo review

Pros

Quick, convenient payments
Costless to transport coin from a bank account or debit bill of fare
Low fee for credit card payments
Can pay for purchases at select businesses
Offers a debit card and a credit card
Adds a social element to sending and receiving money

Cons

Payments are public past default
Can't cancel payments
No international transactions
Pop with scammers

At a glance

iOS app rating	four.9/5 stars
Android app rating	iv.4/v stars
Cost	Free to send money from a debit card or bank account, 3% for credit card payments

What is Venmo and how does it work?

Venmo is a payments app allowing yous to instantly transport and receive money. You can transport coin from your debit card, credit card, depository financial institution account, or your Venmo remainder. When yous receive money, it adds to your Venmo balance. You can go on it in that location or transfer information technology to your bank account. Venmo also lets you lot split bills and other expenses with multiple people. Y'all and your roommate could utilise Venmo to pay your internet bill, for example, or you and a few friends could utilize it to dissever the bank check at a eatery.

One of the about unusual parts of Venmo is that it adds social media elements to money transfers. Venmo users can add each other as friends. There'southward a feed that shows payments betwixt users, and on each payment, you lot can include a note, emojis, or blithe stickers. Venmo as well offers privacy settings. If you don't desire your payments to be seen past everyone, y'all can make them visible to only your friends or to merely you and the recipient.

Top perks

Quick and convenient payments

Ease of use is a big part of Venmo'due south popularity. There's hardly any learning curve. Y'all tin download information technology and start sending or receiving money in minutes. Venmo likewise simplifies splitting expenses -- it offers an on-screen reckoner when you send or request coin. And if you lot're splitting a bill with a group, you can send or request the same corporeality from all of them at once.

When you lot withdraw coin from your Venmo rest, it can take a few business days (usually one to iii) to transfer money to your bank business relationship. If you need money faster, Venmo offers instant transfers for a 1% fee, with a minimum of $0.25 and a maximum of $10.

Free

Venmo doesn't accept regular fees, like monthly or annual fees. There'south no fee to send money from a depository financial institution account, debit card, or your Venmo residue. Credit carte payments have a 3% fee, which is standard amongst payment apps. There's besides no fee to receive coin or transfer it to your bank account unless you opt for an instant transfer instead of a standard transfer.

Can pay for purchases at select businesses

Venmo is a checkout selection with several apps and websites, including Uber, GrubHub, Hulu, Poshmark, and Foot Locker, amongst others. If you're shopping at a business that accepts Venmo payments, the app tin can help you zoom through the checkout process.

Offers a debit menu and a credit bill of fare

Frequent Venmo users may be interested in 1 of its payment cards. The Venmo Debit Menu is tied to your Venmo residual. Information technology doesn't accuse an annual fee, and information technology has greenbacks-back offers with some stores.

The Venmo Credit Carte du jour is a no-annual-fee rewards card. It separates your purchases into spending categories. Every month, yous earn three% greenbacks dorsum on your top category, ii% dorsum on your next biggest spending category, and 1% back on everything else. It'south a solid credit bill of fare, but check out the best rewards credit cards before applying -- in that location might be a more valuable pick bachelor for your spending habits.

The claw with Venmo is that it isn't your typical payments app. It's a payments app that includes popular features from social networks, including likes, comments, and messages fastened to each payment. Some users don't care near this, merely others find that it makes money transfers more fun.

Looking for a simple way to pay someone on the spot?

Bank check out our height picks for the best payment apps and discover the right option for your needs.

What could be improved

Payments are public past default

The privacy settings on Venmo aren't platonic. Past default, your payments are public -- whatsoever Venmo user can see them. They don't include the amounts, but they do have your username, the username of the other person (sender/recipient), and the message.

Y'all can change your privacy settings for individual payments or all your payments so that they're only visible to you and the recipient or your Venmo friends. Nonetheless, it would exist better if the most-private pick was the default. Some consumers use the app without fifty-fifty realizing that their payments are public. That's frustrating if you like to keep your personal finances to yourself.

Can't abolish payments

One time you brand a payment in Venmo, there's no way to cancel. The recipient gets the money immediately. If you need a payment returned, Venmo recommends request the recipient for the money back. The other pick is for Venmo's support to reverse the payment for you, but they can just exercise that if the recipient agrees, if their business relationship is in proficient continuing, and if they nonetheless have the money in their business relationship.

It'southward frustrating that Venmo doesn't offer an easier way to get an errant payment back. You have to promise the recipient agrees to return the money.

No international transactions

International payments aren't an choice with Venmo. To open a Venmo account, you must live in the The states and have a U.S. cell phone number. You can also only transfer your Venmo balance to a U.S. depository financial institution account. If you want to send money to friends or family outside the country, you need a unlike payment app.

Popular with scammers

Venmo is extremely popular, which has its advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, a large user base means a lot of people you know are probably on Venmo. This makes it piece of cake to send them coin or request money from them without them having to download a new app first.

Unfortunately, Venmo scams are common. For example, imagine you get a random $500 Venmo payment from someone you don't know. They contact y'all, say it was a mistake, and inquire yous to send it back. Scammers often practice this with stolen credit cards. When the cardholder reports the payment as fraud, Venmo takes the $500 from your account. If you've already sent $500 to the scammer, then you've lost your money.

Alternatives to consider

If you lot want an app that lets you transport money internationally: Xoom is an app available through PayPal offer payments to 160 countries. It's convenient to transfer money this manner because you become 24/7 status updates and you tin send to the recipient's banking company account, to a pickup location, or even to the recipient's door. But if y'all're only sending money within the United States, Venmo is more user-friendly.

If y'all want an app that has better banking payments: Zelle allows users to send and receive coin through their bank accounts, and funds are available in minutes. Since Zelle partners with quite a few U.S. banks and credit unions, information technology's also integrated with several banking apps already. It only offers payments through bank accounts, though, and then you may want to stick with Venmo if you need more payment options.

What are the costs?

The Venmo app is free. Y'all tin can ship and receive coin with Venmo free of charge. There are, however, a couple of transaction types that have fees. Here are the most mutual times Venmo charges:

Sending money: Credit card payments have a 3% fee. You can avoid this past paying with a debit carte du jour, bank account, or your Venmo balance, which all accept no fees.
Withdrawing money from Venmo to your bank account: Instant transfers accept a i% fee, with a $0.25 minimum and a $x maximum. You tin can avert this with a standard electronic withdrawal that takes nigh one to three business concern days.

Venmo'due south fees are standard for payment apps. Yous nearly always pay extra when sending money with your credit card or withdrawing money to your bank account instantly. Other than those situations, yous can use Venmo without paying anything.

This app is right for:

People who want a convenient mode to ship and receive money with friends and family.

For peer-to-peer payments, Venmo checks all the boxes. It offers debit card, credit carte, and bank business relationship payments. It'south fast and easy to use. Last but not least, it has a massive user base, so many of your contacts may already be using it. Considering how widely used Venmo is, it'south a payments app worth having on your smartphone.