Businesses have always been able to refund customers on Venmo by sending them a new payment. Now, you’ll see the option to refund customers by tapping a Refund button in the Venmo app.
There are a few important eligibility requirements for using in-app refunds:
- Complete identity verification for your business profile
- For full refunds: have enough money in your business profile to cover the original payment
- For partial refunds: have enough money in your business profile to cover the amount you’re refunding
When you use the Refund button, the original payment and the refund are marked “Refunded” in the app and on your statement, so they’re easy to find. Both payments are also linked via payment details.
How to fund a refund
If you don’t have enough money in your business profile to cover a full refund, you have a few options:
- Create a new payment using a bank account or card on file. Be sure to mention the original transaction in the payment note, as this kind of refund isn’t otherwise tied to the original transaction.
- If you have money in your personal profile, request a balance transfer to move money to your business profile. Learn more about balance transfers here.
- Whenever you receive a payment, you always have the option to keep money in your business profile to cover future refunds.
How refunds work
If you need to refund your customer, start by locating their payment in your app. On the payment details screen, you’ll see an option to refund the payment.
Refunds can only be funded by the money in your Venmo account. If you have enough money in your account, you can complete a full or partial refund to send the payment right back to your customer. Remember, you’ll still be responsible for covering the seller transaction fee.
Once the refund is completed, you and your customer will each be notified in the app and via email.
Full Refunds
When using the Refund button, you’ll see the full payment amount from your customer, including tips and fees. You can complete a full refund if you have enough money in your business profile to cover the full amount.
Partial Refunds
You can also refund less than the full payment amount. After selecting “Refund” on the payment in question, simply tap the grey X next to the refund amount and enter the amount you’d like to refund.
Held Payment Refunds
If a payment you received was placed on hold, you can still refund it. For full refunds, the hold is released so we can send the money back to your customer. For partial refunds, the remaining amount (not refunded) will be released to you when the hold expires.
You can learn more about payment holds here.
Refund Status
By default, we always send refunds back to the original payment method selected by the sender. This can include a Venmo account, a bank account, a debit card, or a credit card.
Check the status of a pending refund at any time by tapping on the refund from your Money tab. Once the refund is complete, the status will update to “Completed.” You and your customer will also be notified via email.
Refund Errors
Refunds are designed to be easy, but it is possible that you may encounter an error from time to time. Check out the table below for more information about potential refund errors you might see:
Error |
What you can do |
“You can’t refund more than ($X)” |
Enter an amount less than or equal to the original payment. |
“We need a little more info” / “In order to refund your customers, we’ll need you to complete your identity verification” |
Complete identity verification for your business profile. Read more about identity verification for business profiles here. |
“This refund can’t be completed right now” |
Please have your customer contact us directly for more information. |
“This can’t be refunded right now” |
The payment you received hasn’t yet completed processing. Wait before trying again—payments typically take no more than 5 business days to complete. |
“Value cannot exceed your Venmo balance amount ($X)” |
Try sending a new payment, a balance transfer, or moving funds from your personal profile. |