Money in your Venmo account is made up of any payments that you’ve received from friends that you have neither spent, sent, nor transferred to your bank account. You can see how much money is in your account by going to your profile page, or by tapping the "☰" icon at the top of the app.
If you have access to a balance, you can use the money in your account to make payments to friends. You can also use Venmo at checkout on authorized merchants’ apps or mobile websites. Some merchants also allow purchases using Venmo QR codes at their in-store checkout. Some Venmo users also have a Venmo Debit Card, which can be used anywhere in the U.S. where Mastercard is accepted. Venmo should not otherwise be used to complete purchases, unless explicitly authorized by Venmo.
If you don’t have access to a balance, you can still receive payments on Venmo and transfer the money to a bank account, but you cannot use the money in your account to make payments on Venmo until you verify your identity.
We never split payments between money in your account and preferred payment methods. So, when you make a payment, if you have access to a balance and it covers the entire payment, it will be pulled from your balance. Otherwise, it will be funded by your preferred payment method.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you have $10 in your Venmo balance and want to pay a friend $12. In this case, the entire $12 would be charged to your preferred payment method.
If you don’t have access to a Venmo balance, but have $10 in your Venmo account, payments you make of any amount will be taken from your preferred payment method until you verify your identity.
How can I determine if I have access to a Venmo balance?
If you’re unsure about whether a Venmo balance is available to you to fund payments, don’t worry! Just tap the “☰” button, then “Settings,” then “Payment Methods.” If you see a “Venmo Balance” at the top of the screen, that means you have access to the feature. If you don’t see “Venmo Balance,” you’ll need to verify your identity in order to access the feature. In order to do so, visit this article.
I got an email telling me my access to a Venmo balance might go away. What do I do?
Venmo is required by federal law to collect certain information from all of its users. If you received this email, Venmo is asking you to complete this process. Please check out this article for more information.