How do Venmo Mastercard Debit Card reloads work?
Venmo Debit Card purchases are funded by your Venmo balance. However, there may be times when you'd like to make a purchase that is more than what is available in your Venmo balance. Reloads can help.
When reloads are enabled, if you attempt to complete a Venmo Debit Card purchase that exceeds your Venmo balance, reloads will automatically pull funds from your selected bank account, in increments of $10, to cover the total purchase amount. Please be sure that your selected bank account has sufficient funds in order to avoid declined transactions, or possible third-party overdraft fees.
Venmo places limits on the total dollar value of reloads you can make with the card. You can read more about limits here.
You can change your selected bank account or disable the reload feature in the Venmo app. Open the Venmo app, go to the “Cards” tab 
, check under the Venmo Debit Card section, tap the image of your card, and then look for the option to turn reloads on or off.
If reloads are turned off, or you have reached your reload limit, and your balance is not enough to cover the purchase, your purchase will be declined*.
*In rare circumstances, such as a brief service outage, Venmo’s card processing partner may still allow some transactions to process when reloads are turned off and your balance is not enough to cover the purchase. There is no penalty for incurring a negative balance on Venmo, but you are responsible for all approved transactions made with your Venmo Debit Card.
See the Venmo Mastercard® Debit Cardholder Agreement for further details.
Can I get an example of how reloads work?
Absolutely, how about two?!
Example 1. Let’s say your Venmo balance is $0 and you want to purchase something with your Venmo Debit Card for $50. Because Venmo reloads your balance in increments of $10 (the default reload amount), if reloads are turned on we'll add $50 from your bank account when the purchase is completed, bringing your Venmo balance to $50. After deducting the $50 completed purchase amount, you'll have $0 left over in your Venmo balance (your balance after the reload minus the purchase).
When the reload is settled, meaning we and your bank processed the reload completely, you'll see a $50 transaction on your bank statement.
Example 2. Let's say your Venmo balance is $25 and you want to purchase something with your Venmo Debit Card for $30. Because Venmo reloads your balance in increments of $10 (the default reload amount), if reloads are turned on we'll add $10 from your bank account to your Venmo balance when the purchase is completed. At that point, before your purchase is deducted, your Venmo balance will be $35 ($25 original balance + $10 reload). After deducting the $30 completed purchase amount, you'll have $5 left over in your Venmo balance (your balance after the reload minus the purchase).
When the reload is settled, meaning we and your bank processed the reload completely, you'll see a $10 transaction on your bank statement.
Do I need reloads turned on to use the Venmo Debit Card?
No! You can turn reloads on or off at any time in the Venmo app.
Open the Venmo app, go to the “Cards” tab , check under the Venmo Debit Card section, tap the image of your card, and then look for the option to turn reloads on or off.
If you turn reloads off, purchases you attempt to make with your card will be declined if your Venmo balance is not enough to cover the amount of the purchase.
Any reload settings you have when you initiate a purchase (for example, by swiping your card) will be applied to the completed transaction, so if you want to turn off reloads or change your reload method for a Venmo Debit Card purchase, do it before you initiate the purchase. For more on reload timing, please see the section below.
When will reloads occur?
If reloads are enabled when you initiate a purchase that exceeds your Venmo balance, when the purchase is completed, reload will automatically add to your Venmo balance in increments of $10 to cover the final purchase amount.
We get the final purchase amount once the merchant captures the purchase, which is generally within 1-5 business days after you first swipe your card (please note that in some instances it may take up to 30 days). At that point, if you do not have enough funds in your Venmo balance to cover your purchase, and reloads were enabled when you swiped your card, we will pull funds from your selected bank account. To avoid any overdraft or other fees imposed by your financial institution, make sure you have enough funds in your bank account to cover your Venmo Debit Card purchase.
Please note that bank transfer transactions (ACH) generally take 1-2 business days, so expect to see the reload transaction on your bank statement a few days after your purchase is completed.
To determine the date a reload was triggered, check your Venmo transaction history and look for the line titled “Reload from Bank” or choose the “Bank transfers” filter in the app when searching your personal transactions feed under the "Me" tab.
Because of the delay between when you swipe your card and when a purchase is completed, any Venmo Debit Card transactions that are not complete at the time you turn reloads off may still trigger a reload. See the above section for more details on turning reloads off.
For more information about how merchant captures work please see this article.
What are reload limits?
Venmo places limits on the total dollar value of reloads you can make with the Venmo Debit Card. You can view current limits on this page or in the Venmo Debit Card section of the Venmo app. If you have reached your reload limit, your purchase will be declined if your Venmo balance is not enough to cover the amount of the purchase.
Reloads triggered in the past rolling week and anticipated reloads from pending purchases will both count against your reload limit. We calculate anticipated reloads when a pending Venmo Debit Card purchase exceeds your balance at the time you authorized the purchase.
For example, if you have $0 in your Venmo balance and authorize a $45 purchase at a restaurant, we will hold $50 against your reload limit (the total amount of reloads necessary for the purchase) until the purchase is completed, even though we haven’t yet reloaded your Venmo balance. If your balance is still $0 when the purchase is completed and if you left a $10 tip at the restaurant (bringing your total purchase amount to $55), we will reload your balance with $60 and hold that amount against your reload limit for the next rolling week.
You can read more about Venmo Debit Card and other payment limits here.
What happens if I turn off reload or change my reload method after I make a purchase?
Any reload settings you have in place when you initiate a purchase (for example, by swiping your card) will be applied to the completed transaction. This means that if you turn off reloads or change your reload method after initiating a purchase and you don’t have enough in your Venmo balance when the purchase is completed, Venmo will still attempt to pull funds from the originally designated reload method.
Will cash withdrawals trigger reloads?
No. Any cash withdrawal (ATM, cash back, or Over the Counter) is funded solely with your Venmo balance, even if you have reloads enabled, up to a $400 USD daily withdrawal limit. See the Venmo Mastercard Debit Cardholder Agreement for full details.
If I make a purchase that triggers a reload, when can I expect to see the reload on my bank statement?
Generally, you can expect to see a reload on your bank statement 1-2 business days after the merchant completes the purchase that triggered the reload.
Merchants generally complete, or capture, purchases 1-5 business days after you first swipe your card (please note that in some instances it may take up to 30 days). When the purchase is completed, if you do not have enough funds in your Venmo balance to cover your purchase, we will reload your balance from your bank account. We will send you an email when a reload is triggered.
Reloads, like all bank transactions using ACH, generally take 1-2 business days to process, so expect to see the reload transaction on your bank statement within a few days of the completed purchase triggering the reload. To avoid any overdraft or other fees imposed by your financial institution, make sure you have enough funds in your bank account to cover your reload. For more information about how merchant captures work please see this article.
Why don’t I see the option to turn on reloads in my Venmo app?
Some Venmo Debit Cardholders may not have access to turn on reloads. If you don’t have access to reloads, you can add funds to your Venmo balance Learn more about adding money to your Venmo account.
The Venmo Mastercard Debit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated. The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC. The Venmo Debit Card may be used everywhere Mastercard is accepted in the U.S. Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.