Venmo is a peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer mobile app, similar to Square Cash, that has a social media twist: You can send or request money via emoji-studded text messages, which show up in a Facebook-style feed. Don’t worry, though — dollar amounts always remain private.
Venmo lets you send and request money to and from anyone who has a Venmo account. The app can help with the awkward chore of reimbursing family or friends for dinner or other outings, but it’s not made for buying or selling goods with strangers. Venmo can also be used for web purchases with certain merchants, usually on websites with a payment button similar to PayPal’s.
There’s no need to add money to your Venmo balance to start sending money. Instead, you link a bank account, credit card or debit card to your account. Money comes from your funding source, unless you have sufficient funds in your Venmo balance to cover the entire payment. You transfer money using someone’s email address or phone number. If the recipient doesn’t have a Venmo account, they’re considered a “new user.” The “new user” needs to create an account to accept the money. You can cancel the payment if the receiver doesn’t want to accept money.
Venmo offers 100% protection for unauthorized transactions with some limitations. Unauthorized transactions are characterized as transactions “that you did not authorize and that did not benefit you.” An example of this is if someone gains access to your account with your password and starts transferring funds. However, you do not qualify for protection if you willingly give someone access to your account and they make transactions without your permission.
