My Honest Venmo Review: Good for Splitting Bills and Recurring Payments
Review
Updated
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Venmo makes paying friends fast and easy. I use it to pay rent and split bills with friends. I like how you can view transaction histories so you never lose receipts. It's worth checking out if you want an easy way to send money fast, without worrying about checks or bank account numbers.
Venmo is the peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app of choice, making it easy to send money to friends and family. It's widely used, you can send money by whichever payment method you want, and recipients get funds instantly.
Venmo lets you send money from your debit card, credit card, bank account, or Venmo balance. When you receive money, it's added to your Venmo balance. You can transfer it to your bank account or leave it on Venmo.
Venmo lets you split bills and other expenses with multiple people. For instance, you and your roommate could use Venmo to pay your internet bill, or you and a few friends could use Venmo to split the check at a restaurant.
Venmo adds social media elements to money transfers. Venmo users can add each other as friends. On each payment, you can include a note, emojis, or animated stickers.
Venmo also offers privacy settings. If you don't want your payments to be seen by everyone, you can make them visible to only your friends, or to just you and the recipient.
Ease of use is a big part of Venmo's popularity. There's hardly any learning curve. You can download it and start sending or receiving money in minutes. Venmo also simplifies splitting expenses -- it offers an on-screen calculator when you send or request money. And if you're splitting a bill with a group, you can request the same amount from all of them at once.
Venmo doesn't have regular fees, like monthly or annual fees. There's no fee to send money from a bank account, debit card, or your Venmo balance. Credit card payments have a 3% fee, which is standard among payment apps. There's no fee to receive money or transfer it to your bank account unless you opt for an instant transfer instead of a standard transfer.
When you withdraw money from your Venmo balance, it can take one to three business days to transfer money to your bank account. If you need money faster, Venmo offers instant transfers for a 1.75% fee, with a minimum of $0.25 and a maximum of $25.
You can pay with Venmo funds on several apps and websites, including Uber Eats, Hulu, and Poshmark, among others. Shopping at a business that accepts Venmo payments? The app can speed you through the checkout process.
Frequent Venmo users may be interested in one of its payment cards.
The Venmo Debit Card is tied to your Venmo balance. It doesn't charge an annual fee, and it offers cash back at some stores.
Parents may be interested in applying for a Venmo Teen Debit Card on their teenager's behalf. The card gives parents insight into and control over underage spending, and it gives teens the power to pay anywhere Mastercard is accepted. There's no monthly fee, and it's free to sign up.
The Venmo Credit Card is a no annual fee rewards card. It separates your purchases into spending categories. Every month, you earn 3% cash back on your top category, 2% back on your next biggest spending category, and 1% back on everything else.
The Venmo Credit Card offers solid perks, but check out the best rewards credit cards before applying -- there might be a more valuable option available.
Venmo lets you attach custom messages to each payment. It's an easy and fun way to track receipts. You can filter to specific users, so you never forget who paid who.
Venmo lets you purchase up to four popular cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Bitcoin Cash. Venmo charges zero fees for doing so, and you can buy in $1 increments.
Venmo offers users short educational content on crypto basics, such as how it works. It doesn't offer staking or advanced features -- for these, see the best crypto exchanges and apps.
Make sure you're getting the best account for you by comparing savings rates and promotions. Here are some of our favorite high-yield savings accounts to consider.
| Account | APY | Promotion | Next Steps |
|---|---|---|---|
Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
On SoFi's Secure Website.
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
up to 3.80%²
Rate info
You can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.
Min. to earn: $0
|
New customers can earn up to a $300 bonus with qualifying direct deposits!¹
|
Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
On SoFi's Secure Website. |
Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings
On CIT's Secure Website.
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more
Rate info
4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more; otherwise, 0.25% APY
Min. to earn: $100 to open account, $5,000+ for max APY
|
Earn a bonus of at least $225 after a one-time deposit of $25,000+.
Transfer a one-time deposit of $25,000-$49,999.99 for a bonus of $225. Transfer a one-time deposit of $50,000+ for a bonus of $300. Account must be opened with code PS2025 while this promotion lasts, and funded within 30 days. Bonus will be fulfilled within 60 days from the funding date. There is no period of time where the customer will be required to maintain the funds. Account must be open when bonus is credited. One bonus per account and primary customer. Bonus will be credited into the Platinum Savings Account that fulfills the funding requirement. Funding can be deposited all at once or incrementally.
|
Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings
On CIT's Secure Website. |
Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings
On American Express's Secure Website.
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
3.70%
Rate info
3.70% annual percentage yield as of April 5, 2025. Terms apply.
Min. to earn: $0
|
N/A
|
Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings
On American Express's Secure Website. |
SoFi disclosure:
¹ New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period) OR $300 (with at least $5,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period). Cash bonus will be based on the total amount of Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 12/7/2023 and will be available through 1/31/26. See full bonus and annual percentage yield (APY) terms at sofi.com/banking#1.
² SoFi members who enroll in SoFi Plus with Direct Deposit or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee every 30 days or with $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits during the 30-Day Evaluation Period can earn 3.80% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum Direct Deposit amount required to qualify for the stated interest rate. Members without either SoFi Plus or Qualifying Deposits, during the 30-Day Evaluation Period will earn 1.00% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Only SoFi Plus members are eligible for other SoFi Plus benefits. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 1/24/25. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. See the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions at https://www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#plus.
³ We do not charge any account, service or maintenance fees for SoFi Checking and Savings. We do charge a transaction fee to process each outgoing wire transfer. SoFi does not charge a fee for incoming wire transfers, however the sending bank may charge a fee. Our fee policy is subject to change at any time. See the SoFi Checking & Savings Fee Sheet for details at sofi.com/legal/banking-fees/.
⁴ SoFi Bank is a member FDIC and does not provide more than $250,000 of FDIC insurance per depositor per legal category of account ownership, as described in the FDIC’s regulations.
Any additional FDIC insurance is provided by the SoFi Insured Deposit Program. Deposits may be insured up to $3M through participation in the program. See full terms at SoFi.com/banking/fdic/sidpterms. See list of participating banks at SoFi.com/banking/fdic/participatingbanks.
⁵ We’ve partnered with Allpoint to provide you with ATM access at any of the 55,000+ ATMs within the Allpoint network. You will not be charged a fee when using an in-network ATM, however, third-party fees incurred when using out-of-network ATMs are not subject to reimbursement. SoFi’s ATM policies are subject to change at our discretion at any time.
⁶ Early access to direct deposit funds is based on the timing in which we receive notice of impending payment from the Federal Reserve, which is typically up to two days before the scheduled payment date, but may vary.
⁷ Overdraft Coverage is limited to $50 on debit card purchases only and is an account benefit available to customers with direct deposits of $1,000 or more during the current 30-day Evaluation Period as determined by SoFi Bank, N.A. The 30-Day Evaluation Period refers to the “Start Date” and “End Date” set forth on the APY Details page of your account, which comprises a period of 30 calendar days (the“30-Day Evaluation Period”). You can access the APY Details page at any time by logging into your SoFi account on the SoFi mobile app or SoFi website and selecting either (i) Banking > Savings > Current APY or (ii) Banking > Checking > Current APY. Members with a prior history of non-repayment of negative balances are ineligible for Overdraft Coverage.
Once you make a payment in Venmo, there's no way to cancel. The recipient gets the money immediately. If you need a payment returned, Venmo recommends asking the recipient for the money back.
The other option is for Venmo's support to reverse the payment for you, but a representative can only do that if the recipient agrees, if their account is in good standing, and if they still have the money in their account.
International payments aren't an option with Venmo. To open a Venmo account, you must live in the United States and have a U.S. cellphone number. You can only transfer your Venmo balance to a U.S. bank account, and you can only log into the Venmo app within the U.S. If you want to send money outside the country, you need a different payment app (more on those below).
Venmo is extremely popular, which has its advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, a lot of people you know are probably on Venmo. This makes it easy to send them money or request money from them.
Unfortunately, Venmo scams are common. For example, imagine you get a random $500 Venmo payment from someone you don't know. They contact you, say it was a mistake, and ask you to send it back. A scammer often does this with stolen credit cards.
When the real cardholder reports the payment as fraud, Venmo takes the $500 from your account. If you've already sent $500 to the scammer, then you've lost your money, and Venmo can't help you.
The privacy settings on Venmo are unideal. By default, non-teen account payments are public -- any Venmo user can see them. While public, anyone can see your username, the username of the other person (sender/recipient), and the attached message.
You can change your privacy settings so payments are only visible to your friends -- or make them private. But some consumers use the app without even realizing that their payments are public. That can frustrate those who prefer to keep personal finances to themselves.
Check out our top picks for the best payment apps and find the right option for your needs.
The Venmo app is free. You can send and receive money with Venmo free of charge. But Venmo charges for "premium" features. These include the following:
Venmo's fees are standard for payment apps. You almost always pay extra when sending money with your credit card or withdrawing money to your bank account quickly.
Venmo gets good reviews on both iOS and the Google Play store. Customers say the platform is super simple and a game-changer for sending money to family and friends. Some people complain about technical issues, such as Venmo balances not updating promptly.
Venmo's app is simple to use. The homepage resembles a social media feed, listing recent transactions made by you and friends. You can navigate to the Pay/Request tab with one tap. From there, you can search for who you'd like to send money to or request payment from.
Venmo main screen showing options tab at bottom and friends' transactions. Image source: Venmo, captured by author.
Venmo Pay/Request screen to send or request money from others. Image source: Venmo, captured by author.
Venmo is generally safe to use. Your information is encrypted, and Venmo doesn't make you type in credit card numbers or the like. You can get scammed the old-fashioned way, however. Be careful of who you send money to; Venmo doesn't offer refunds or cancellations.
If you want an app with better banking payments: Zelle is a free alternative that lets you quickly transfer money from your bank account to another person's bank. You can also receive payments with Zelle. However, Zelle only supports money transfers funded from select bank accounts.
Stick with Venmo if you want more flexibility and like being able to fund payments with a credit card, debit card, and bank account.
If you want an app that does money management better: Cash App is a free alternative that lets you send and receive cash, stocks, and Bitcoin. Cash App also lets you invest, bank, and withdraw money from ATMs fee free.
However, Venmo is more social. You can easily track payments sent by those in your circle, and you can customize your receipts. If you want to lean into the social aspect of payments, Venmo is your best bet.
Venmo generally doesn't issue refunds or cancel transactions, even if you're positive that you've been scammed. Also, money on the platform isn't FDIC insured. If something happens to Venmo while your money is there, there's no guarantee you'll get your money back.
Generally yes. The technology works when used safely. But to protect yourself from losing money to scams or bankruptcy, do the following:
Yes, if you lack a way to quickly and freely transfer money to friends and family. Venmo is one of the best peer-to-peer payment platforms.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Motley Fool Money is 100% owned and operated by The Motley Fool. Our knowledgeable team of personal finance editors and analysts are employed by The Motley Fool and held to the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.
