Venmo is a mobile payments app for people in the United States who need to pay each other, split shared costs and pay businesses. It runs on iOS and Android. Users can also send Venmo payments and requests from the venmo.com website. An account needs a U.S. mobile number that can receive text messages.
Paying and requesting money
Every Venmo transaction starts from the Pay/Request button. The user finds the other person by name, username, phone number or email address, enters an amount and a note, and chooses Pay or Request. A payment moves money straight away; a request is a charge the other person has to accept before anything is transferred.
Users can add several people to one payment or request. Venmo divides the total evenly among everyone, including the sender, and users can then adjust each share. Users can also schedule a payment for later or repeat it at a chosen frequency. Scheduled payments use the Venmo balance when it covers the amount and otherwise fall back to a backup method picked during setup.
Who sees a payment
Each payment is Public, Friends or Private. Public payments may be visible to anyone on the internet, Friends payments to both participants’ Venmo friends, and Private payments only to the two people involved. The shared feed shows names, the note and the time, but never the amount. When the two participants’ settings differ, Venmo applies the more restrictive one.
Users set a default level in the Privacy settings, which also hide past transactions and control whether the account appears in search. Users can make a sent payment more private later, but not more public.
Splitting purchases and group expenses
Users can split a purchase in the transaction history afterwards. Venmo sends a charge request to each chosen person, with optional tips or surcharges and a separate amount per person. Pending requests can be deleted or followed up with a reminder.
For ongoing costs such as a shared flat or a trip, Venmo Groups keep a running record for up to 30 members. Any member can add an expense, which is split equally unless the amounts are edited. Each member can see what they owe and what others owe them. They can pay or send reminders from the group, and mark debts settled outside Venmo as paid.
The Venmo balance and cards
Money received can be spent from the Venmo balance once the user has verified their identity. Users can top up the balance from a linked bank account or debit card once, on a schedule, or automatically when it falls below a set amount. Paychecks can also arrive by direct deposit. Moving money to a bank uses a standard transfer, which takes a few business days, or a paid instant transfer.
The Venmo Debit Card is a Mastercard that spends the balance in stores and online and earns cash back at selected brands. Users can split its purchases in the app later. In the Crypto tab, users can buy, sell and hold coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, set price alerts and send crypto to Venmo friends. Availability is restricted in some states.
Buying from sellers and businesses
Payments to friends and family are not covered by Venmo Purchase Protection. Coverage applies to debit card purchases, Venmo checkout in apps and on websites, in-store QR code payments, payments to business profiles and balance payments tagged as goods and services. It covers items that never arrive, arrive damaged or differ from the order, and service deposits for work that never happens.
Small sellers can add a business profile linked to their personal account. It keeps business income out of the personal feed and lets customers pay by QR code or through Tap to Pay on the seller’s phone.
Teen accounts
A parent or guardian can open a Venmo Teen Account and invite the teenager to join. The teen can receive money, pay and request from friends, buy from approved merchants and use a teen debit card at ATMs. Teen accounts are hidden from search by default, and the parent is notified when a new payment method is added.
