Why is my Venmo payment "Pending?"
There are two reasons why a payment may show as pending on Venmo:
- The payment is being processed by your bank and hasn’t cleared yet
- You sent a payment to a phone number or email address and the recipient’s phone number or email address either isn’t verified or isn’t associated with a Venmo account
Read on for details on how to manage your pending payment situation.
If you sent a payment to a PayPal customer in a different country, the payment may need additional time to process. See our article on international payments for more information.
Purchases made with your Venmo account or Venmo Debit card are processed differently from personal payments. Learn about merchant authorizations for purchases.
Payments pending bank clearance
For certain bank-funded transactions, your bank may need additional time to process the payment. These payments typically take 3-5 business days to complete. This only applies to payments using a bank account, not those made using a debit card, credit card, or money in your Venmo balance.
When will the recipient receive the payment?
If your bank-funded payment is pending, the money will reach the recipient’s Venmo account once the transaction is completed. This usually takes 3-5 business days. You’ll see an estimated completion date for any Pending payments in your Transactions feed.
When the payment is completed, Venmo will notify you and the recipient.
Can I cancel or expedite my pending payment?
If you need to cancel a pending payment sent to an active Venmo account, please contact your bank directly. See our article on canceling payments for more information.
There isn’t a way to speed up a pending payment, but there are ways to avoid delays with future payments:
- Use a linked debit card as your funding source
- Link and verify your bank account using the “Instant” method with Plaid
Payments pending recipient action
If you send a payment to a phone number or email address that isn't verified or that isn't associated with a Venmo account, it will show as "Pending" in your transactions feed. Your payment method will still be charged, but the money won't reach the recipient until they finish setting up their Venmo account.
How do I complete a pending payment?
If you sent the payment to the correct phone number or email address, the recipient will need to verify that contact information on their Venmo account. Depending on the situation, the recipient can follow the instructions to sign up or add an additional email address to their Venmo account.
How do I cancel a pending payment?
If your payment is listed as pending because you sent the payment to a phone number or email address and the payment hasn’t been claimed by the recipient, you can cancel it. Here’s how:
- Go to the Me tab in your Venmo app
- Find the transaction at the top of your Transactions feed
- Under the payment in question, tap Take Back
You can also access your pending payments on the web and cancel it there.
If the payment isn’t claimed or taken back within 30 days, it will automatically expire and the money will return to your payment method.
Note: The option to take back a payment is only available if the recipient’s phone number or email address is not associated with an active Venmo account.
What happens when I take back a Pending payment?
Taking back a pending payment means that the money will be sent back to your original funding source:
- For payments sent back to your Venmo balance, you should see the refund reflected right away
- For payments reversed back to a bank account, the funds should be deposited back in your bank account in up to 5 business days
- For payment sent back to a credit or debit card, you should see that posted on your statement in up to 7 business days
These timelines can depend on external factors and cannot be expedited.