I didn’t receive a payment I’m expecting, or I sent a payment and the person I paid didn’t get it
Each Venmo user involved in a payment can usually verify that the payment was successful if they received a notification and if the payment appears in their personal transactions feed. The payment will be listed in red with a minus sign on the sender's account to show that the money was sent. It'll be listed in green on the recipient's account to show that the money arrived.
If the recipient did receive a notification about the payment:
- They may not realize the money isn’t sent directly to their bank account. If they're expecting the money in their bank account, they need to transfer the money to their bank account
- They may need to verify the email address or phone number you used or add the email address to their Venmo account
- If the recipient is still having trouble, please have them contact Support directly. To protect their privacy, our Support team can only discuss their account with them
If the intended recipient did not receive a notification about the payment, continue reading this article for more information.
Can you cancel my payment?
Unfortunately no—the moment you send a payment in Venmo, we send a request to your bank/card company to debit the funds and make them available to your friend.
The fastest way to get a refund is to have your friend send you a payment for the same amount. Keep in mind our Support team won’t be able to reverse the payment for you unless the money is still in your friend’s account, their account is in good standing, and they reach out to us directly with permission.
For more details about canceling a payment, please visit this article.
Why is a payment I sent appearing in my “Incomplete” tab or listed as “Pending”?
You sent a payment to an email address or phone number that isn’t associated with an active Venmo account or that isn’t verified. You’ll need to have your friend verify their phone number or email address, or they can add the email address you used to their Venmo account by visiting this link: https://venmo.com/identity/verify_email_addresses.
You can also take back the payment. For more information, visit this article.
What do I do if I accidentally paid a stranger instead of my friend?
Send them a charge request for the same amount with a note asking them to pay you back for the money you sent by mistake.
If you don’t hear back from them or need help sending a charge request, feel free to check out this article for instructions on how to contact us.
Can I change the bank account or card being used for my payment?
Not after a payment has been sent. However, you can edit your payment method any time before you send a payment. Simply tap on the bank or the card shown at the bottom of the payment screen to change it. This will update your payment method for this payment.
You can also head here to examine your Transaction History, including the details for the payment.
What’s the most money can I send using Venmo?
When you sign up for Venmo, your person-to-person sending limit is $299.99. Once we've confirmed your identity, your weekly rolling limit is $4,999.99. To learn more about limits, or how to verify your identity, please visit this article.
Please note: these limits may change from time to time at our discretion.
My friend paid me on the wrong email address. Can I add it to my Venmo account?
If your friend sent you a payment to an email address that’s different from the one you signed up with, you can add and verify that email address to receive the payment here: https://venmo.com/identity/verify_email_addresses. This email address will be added in addition to the email address that you signed up with, meaning you’ll be able to receive payments sent directly to both email addresses. (Keep in mind that this additional email address can’t be used to log into your account.)
Once you’ve verified the additional email address, the payment (and any future payments sent to this address) should reach your Venmo account successfully.
What do I do if I receive a payment or a request from a stranger?
If you receive a payment from someone that you don't know, you can simply send a payment back to the other user with a note explaining that they paid the wrong person. If you receive a request from a stranger, you can decline the request.
If you want to make sure it can’t happen again, you can block the user who paid you or sent you a request. For more info, visit this article.
Why do I see a duplicate charge on my bank account or card statement for one payment I made on Venmo?
If you’re concerned about a billing error related to activity on Venmo, please contact us.
Where can I find details about my transaction history?
Visit this article to learn how to access your complete transaction history.
Can I set up automatic recurring payments or charge requests?
No, Venmo doesn't offer this option at this time.
Can I connect Venmo to my PayPal account to transfer money between the two?
No. Venmo is a service of PayPal, Inc., but we don’t offer the ability to transfer money between Venmo and PayPal accounts.
Can I send an anonymous payment to someone on Venmo?
No. There’s no way to pay someone anonymously on Venmo.
Can I use Venmo to pay myself or move money between two of my own payment methods?
No. Venmo is intended only for payments between separate individuals rather than moving money between your own payment methods. Additionally, you’re only allowed to maintain one personal Venmo account at a time.
Can I use Venmo to buy or sell merchandise, goods, or services?
You may use Venmo to pay for goods or services using a Venmo Mastercard Debit Card at merchants that accept the card, using in-store QR codes with select merchants, 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, unless explicitly authorized by Venmo.
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), unless explicitly authorized by Venmo.
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. This means:
- 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.
If you want to know more about making online purchases from authorized merchants with Venmo, please visit this article for the details. If you want to know more about using Venmo QR codes in stores, please see this article for details.
Can I use Venmo to collect donations for my non-profit or otherwise?
Venmo doesn't currently provide support for user-created donation campaigns or non-profits.
Although Venmo’s peer-to-peer experience cannot be used to solicit or collect charitable contributions, you may be able to work with PayPal or Braintree to integrate Venmo as a checkout option in your organization’s app or website. You can find more information about accepting Venmo for your business here.