Since launching in 2009, Venmo has rapidly become a go-to service for digital peer-to-peer payments and spending tracking. Its ubiquitous mobile app makes splitting bills, funding group gift purchases, reimbursing friends, and even paying merchants as easy as a few screen taps. Venmo handled over $230 billion in payment volume in 2021 alone – and continues accelerating.
This definitive guide from a digital finance expert will get you signed up with Venmo quickly, walk through connecting various payment sources, detail the top techniques for sending & requesting money, and provide critical account security best practices given the financial data involved. Follow along to become a power Venmo user utilizing all its most advanced capabilities.
Introduction to Venmo: Background & Benefits
Before diving into the step-by-step instructions for new users, let‘s examine the meteoric rise of Venmo and why its seamlessness has made it a leading payment app embraced by over 83 million active users as of 2022.
Growth Stats Signal Its Popularity
Venmo launched only 13 years ago in 2009 but has seen enormous adoption thanks to its intuitive user experience and branding catered to younger demographics. Consider just a few standout metrics:
- $230 billion in payment volume handled in 2021 – 70% year-over-year growth
- Projected to manage $900 billion in volume by 2025 according to eMarketer
- Estimated 28.7 million users at start of 2020 jumped to over 83 million by start of 2023
- Ranks #2 finance app by monthly active users in US behind only PayPal
Furthermore, Venmo enjoys incredible visibility as a mainstream way to exchange payments with friends as doing so is simply dubbed "Venmoing."
Benefits Over Cash, Checks & Bank Transfers
What‘s driven Venmo‘s viral-level growth? Several key advantages make it leapfrog traditional payment methods:
- Ease of use – Intuitive mobile interface for finding contacts and entering transfer details
- Speed – Payments delivered to recipients instantly in seconds rather than days
- Convenience – No trips to the ATM or mailing paper checks required
- Flexibility – Send funds amongst friends or withdraw to external bank
- Tracking – Payment descriptions and timestamps logged automatically
Compare Venmo to mailing paper checks, for example:
| Payment Method | Speed | Convenience | Tracking | Security |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper checks | 5-10 business days | Low – buying stamps, postal mail | None – memo line only | Moderate – mail fraud, forgery |
| Venmo | Seconds | High – mobile app | Automatic | High – encryption, verification |
Venmo also improves upon challenges faced when relying exclusively on cash – no more splitting noisy coins or exact change needed.
For reimbursements, bill splitting, group gifts, personal allowances and even merchant payments, Venmo outperforms older options tremendously.
Now let‘s dive into getting you set up on Venmo‘s mobile app.
Creating Your Venmo Account
The Venmo mobile app provides the most feature-rich experience for sending and receiving money with friends. Becoming a registered member only takes a minute. Here‘s how:
- Download and open the Venmo iOS or Android app
- Upon launch select "Sign Up" to create an account
- Choose either registering with email or connecting with Facebook
- Create a unique password for Venmo access
- Requirements: 8+ characters including uppercase, lowercase, number
- Enter your first & last name, email, and phone number when prompted
- Avoid nicknames temporarily – real name needed for transfers
- You must verify your mobile number through a texted code for security compliance
- Lastly, tap "Agree to Venmo‘s privacy policy" to finish signing up
With a Venmo account created, exploring the app‘s capabilities still requires funding transfers through linked payment methods. Let‘s tour options for connecting bank accounts, debit cards, or credit cards in the next section.
But first, what about availability for international tourists in the US? Currently the Venmo platform solely functions with U.S. bank accounts and card networks. Travellers should utilize PayPal instead for any global payment needs or withdrawals.
Linking Payment Methods to Fund Transfers
While signed into the Venmo app, multiple paths exist to connect money sources for streaming cash into your account balance. Top funding methods include U.S. checking/savings accounts, debit cards, and major credit card brands.
Adding accounts safely also involves account verification steps – crucially important before conducting any transfers.
Here‘s an overview of linking various payment instruments along with fees to be aware of:
| Funding Method | Linking Steps | Verification Process | Transfer Fees | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank account | Instant/Micro-transfer | Login to bank or 2 deposits | None | $2,999 weekly send limit |
| Debit card | Scan/Manual entry | 2 micro-charges | None | Daily swipe limits apply |
| Credit card | Scan/Manual entry | Address & CVV check | 3% per transfer | Cash back rewards may apply |
While adding each payment method follows similar menus and prompts in the Venmo app, let‘s break down details and procedures for bank accounts and card payments separately.
Linking Bank Accounts with Venmo
Funding transfers using bank account debits and despots enables fee-free payments backed by your financial institution.
- Navigate to your Profile > Payment methods > Link bank account
- Select desired verification process:
- Instant: Answer security questions to log into your bank account right within Venmo for instant verification
- Micro-transfer: Approve 2 tiny Venmo deposits into your bank account for confirmation
- Enter your account and routing number accurately matching what‘s printed on your checks
- Mistyped details will cause verification issues delaying use
Banks confirmed to work with Venmo Instant Verification:
- Bank of America
- Capital One
- Chase
- Citi
- PNC
- SunTrust
- TD Bank
- Wells Fargo
I recommend Instant Verification for fast confirmation if your bank partners with Venmo.
The next option for funding is directly through debit or credit cards – though extra fees apply in certain scenarios.
Linking Debit and Credit Cards
Besides ties to a banking account itself, Venmo also enables card payments through Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
- Navigate to Profile > Payment methods then tap + Add a card
- Scan card by allowing Venmo access to phone camera
- Alignment guides help capture card number properly
- Alternatively enter card details manually
- Marked fields for number, expiration date, CVV code
- Confirm with bank zip code and billing address
One key difference arises when paying for transfers between debit vs credit – a 3% fee is charged when sending funds with a linked credit card. Debit card payments come with no surcharge.
So generally opt for debit transfers to avoid service costs if carrying card balances doesn‘t matter. But some credit card points structures actually make Venmo purchases worthwhile for cardholders chasing travel miles or cash back bonuses.
Now equipped with payment methods linked up, let‘s get into actually sending payments between Venmo friends.
Finding Friends and Completing Transfers
Venmo automatically scans your phone contact book and social graphs to show existing members right within the mobile app. This simplifies identifying your network connections on Venmo if they‘ve previously signed-up.
Connections Via Contacts and Facebook Friends
The People tab shows both nearby Venmo friends as well as past transaction activity with connections showing in text chat interfaces.
For more distant contacts not appearing automatically, use Venmo‘s search tool with various profile lookup options:
- Search by name or username
- Search by phone number
- Search by email if connected as contacts
Additionally scroll down on People and toggle "See Facebook friends" on to sync friends from your connected Facebook account. Display updates promptly if matched Venmo users.
Initiating Payments and Requests
With your target contact or group selected, just tap the payment icon shaped like a dollar bill to initiate sending funds. Here payment specifics get configured:
- Amount – Enter dollars and cents to transfer
- From – Choose bank or linked card source to fund payment
- For – Write what monies are for whether debts, concert tickets, dinner, etc
- Personalize – Embed emojis and animated stickers if desired
Consider payments between roommates for shared utilities and rent:
- Emily pays John $80 for Electric bill
- Display emoji and memo: 💡 July electricity 70% split
Beyond a standard payment, Venmo also supports creating bills for group expenses like dinners out. Bill organizers can customize parameters:
- Split options: evenly, by item, percentage/portions
- Requests sent to each friend listed directly in app chat
For 1-to-1 transactions, payment notifications get delivered immediately so recipients understand context.
And turned around – recipients aren‘t just limited to money transfers initiated by others. Let‘s explore payment requests next – extremely useful for reimbursements.
Requesting Funds from Friends
Rather than only waiting for incoming payments, Venmo members can proactively request money from others in their network – ideal for paying someone back.
- Navigate to contact friend profile you‘d like to request funds from
- Tap "Request" icon shaped like a price tag icon
- Just like sending payments, choose:
- Amount requested
- Payment window – available options range from immediately, 1 day, or custom weeks
- The friend receives notification for quick transfer back
Payment requests shine for simplifying reimbursements, especially around shared vacations or activities. Eliminates IOUs and awkward money discussions!
For example, Grace recently covered her friends‘ theme park tickets upfront costing $352 total. Rather than chase 4 individuals to pay back their $88 owed, Grace simply requests $88 payments explaining what it‘s for. Super simple repayment.
Now that we‘ve reviewed finding friends, sending payments, and requesting money owed, let‘s shift gears towards critical account security topics.
Activating Security Protections
Like any financial service handling banking details and cash transfers, applying certain security precautions helps protect Venmo account safety. Let‘s explore various protections to enable.
Password Protection
The first line of defense for any online account is a strong, unique password avoiding strings guessable by social media-savvy friends.
- Use 8+ random characters mixing upper, lowercase, numbers, symbols
- Avoid pet names, birthdays, dictionary words
- Don‘t reuse across other online accounts if breached
- Change quarterly or upon suspicion
Enhance account locking by enabling your mobile device‘s biometric capabilities:
- Face ID on iPhone provides user verification through facial geometry scans, now directly supported in Venmo for bypassing mundane passcode entry
- Fingerprint unlock on Android models with embedded fingerprint readers
Payment Notifications
Venmo can optionally email notifications detailing all account payment activity and friend requests if desired.
- Navigate to Settings > Notifications > Transaction activity
- Toggle on email alerts delivering summaries of payments, friend requests, and other activity
This allows monitoring for unauthorized charges without constantly checking app payment logs.
Two-Factor Authentication
Far stronger than just password protection, enabling two-factor authentication introduces another step for verifying your identity upon logging into Venmo or adding other devices.
Here‘s how to switch this vital safeguard on:
- Navigate to Settings then Security
- Tap "Enable two-factor authentication"
- Confirm setup by having a code sent by SMS to enter
Now signing in to Venmo in the future requires:
- Knowing your password – AND –
- Having access to the associated mobile device for entering SMS codes
That way stealing just passwords doesn‘t automatically grant account access.
This single option dramatically decreases vulnerability to account infiltration by random passerby if you leave an unlocked device unattended.
Data Privacy Controls
Beyond payments themselves, limiting wider visibility into friends lists and transaction histories provides bottom-up privacy too.
New Venmo members share a few key defaults:
- Strangers CAN look you up by name, photo, username in Search tool
- All friends CAN view your profile and full friend list by default
- Your profile shows display name, photo (if uploaded), hashtag history
Start by limiting exposure only to established friends through these standard account privacy controls:
- Friends list visibility
- Flip from "Everyone" to "Friends" for snooping deterrence
- Transaction history privacy
- Change from "Public" feed to "Friends-only"
- Searchability visibility
- Disable strangers searching by name or username
While still viewable to connections, limiting content visibility provides immense protection against random daily users potentially saving your profile data or inferring identity details from feed.
The less shared digitally the better.
Conclusion & Next Steps
In closing this extensive guide, you‘re now equipped with both practical knowledge for effectively sending and requesting payments via Venmo as well as aware around optional precautions useful for optimizing privacy plus account security.
Key takeaways include:
- Downloading Venmo‘s intuitive mobile app for free on iPhone and Android devices
- Breezing through registration with password, contact, and verification steps
- Funding a balance between friends through linking various bank or card sources
- Initiating bank transfers or card payments easily acknowledging money‘s purpose
- Requesting reimbursements from acquaintances for shared expenses
- Encouraging top security protections via passwords, notifications, and 2-factor authentication
- Adjusting default privacy configurations surrounding contacts and payments
As you conduct more transfers, be sure to provide payment notes or fun reactions to personalize conversations explaining cash flows. Over 83 million existing members embrace Venmo‘s simplicity daily.
For any other questions, feel free to tap Venmo‘s in-app customer support chat or explore Help Center troubleshooting guides online covering account security, payment issues, connection problems, and more.
Here‘s to all your future quick, protected peer-payments simplified!
