Purchasing with Venmo FAQ

Should I use Venmo to pay for goods and services?

You may only use Venmo to pay for goods or services using a Venmo card at merchants that accept the card or through mobile websites or apps that are approved to offer Venmo as a payment option. If available, the option to pay using Venmo will appear as a Venmo-branded payment button at checkout or, in some cases, may appear after you first select PayPal as your payment method. Venmo may not otherwise be used to receive business, commercial or merchant transactions, meaning you CANNOT use Venmo to accept payment from (or send payment to) another user for a good or service.  

DO NOT USE VENMO TO TRANSACT WITH PEOPLE YOU DON’T PERSONALLY KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF THE TRANSACTION INVOLVES THE PURCHASE OR SALE OF A GOOD OR SERVICE (for example, concert tickets, electronic equipment, sneakers, a watch, or other merchandise). These transactions are potentially high risk, are not allowed under Venmo’s User Agreement and Venmo does not offer a protection program for such transactions. So:  

• If you send a Venmo payment to someone for a good or service, you could lose your money without ever getting what you paid for.
• If you accept a Venmo payment from someone for a good or service and we later review the payment, we may reverse the payment, meaning you could lose both the payment and the item sold.  This review process may not occur until after you attempt to transfer the funds out of Venmo.

How do I know whether a website or app accepts Venmo?

As a service of PayPal, Inc, you can now pay with Venmo at many places you see the PayPal button while using your preferred mobile web browser. Simply tap the PayPal button on a mobile device to launch the PayPal checkout experience. If we're able to bring you the Venmo experience at this site, a Venmo payment option will appear on the next page.

Other times, you’ll see a Venmo payment option (i.e. a Venmo button) in a merchant app or mobile website during checkout.

Please note you’ll need to opt in to pay with Venmo on the Venmo app.

Will I be charged a fee when I pay with Venmo at participating businesses?

Venmo does not charge you a fee for purchasing items from participating businesses, even if those purchases are funded using a credit card. The business pays the transaction fee; not you.

Note: when you send money using the Venmo app or on Venmo.com using your Venmo balance, bank account, debit card or prepaid card, we waive fees so it’s free to use. If you want to send money using a credit card, our standard 3% fee applies.

What’s the relationship between Venmo and PayPal?

PayPal is a payment option available at millions of businesses, big and small, in 200+ countries around the world. PayPal and Venmo are services of PayPal, Inc.

What are my limits?

You can read more about your limits here.

Do you use cookies?

A cookie is a small file on your computer or mobile device that saves Internet settings. PayPal and Venmo require cookies to be turned on to log in to your account and to save certain settings.

You can read more about PayPal and cookies here.

What information is provided to the merchant?

Venmo will provide the merchant with your full name, email address, and phone number (if required by the merchant) associated with your Venmo profile. If a delivery for the purchase is needed, you may be required to supply your shipping address directly to the merchant, or Venmo may supply it automatically. Your personal financial information is not shared with the business.

Can I get a refund to my PayPal account?

In most instances, refunds will be credited to the same payment method that you used for the original purchase.  Sometimes, for various reasons, your refund will be credited to your Venmo balance.

Unfortunately it’s not possible to refund your PayPal account if you used Venmo to pay for your item.

If Venmo is a service of PayPal, can I link my accounts and see my payment activity in one place?

You can only view your Venmo activity from the Venmo app or on the web at https://venmo.com/account/settings/. Your PayPal activity can be viewed separately at PayPal.com or in the PayPal app.

Does Venmo offer any protections for my purchases made at participating businesses?

Yes, When you use Venmo to make purchases on participating websites, your eligible purchases are covered by Venmo Authorized Merchant Payment Protection Policy. .

To learn more about what the Venmo Authorized Merchant Payment Protection Policy covers, and how to qualify for it, please check out our User Agreement here: https://venmo.com/legal/us-user-agreement/

I can’t find the Venmo button after tapping PayPal. How do I find it?

The Venmo button will show up automatically where available.