Send money to a person with Venmo

Venmo is the person-to-person payments app we send people to when they want to pay a friend, split a bill, or move a small amount between people. It is not a checking account, and it is not a replacement for one.

What Venmo is

Venmo's own site describes it as a way to send money to friends, pay businesses, and check out when you shop. It also lists a debit card and a credit card. Those are separate products. This page is about sending money to a person.

Venmo is a service of PayPal, Inc., a licensed money transmitter (NMLS ID: 910457). PayPal's fee disclosures say PayPal is not a bank, does not take deposits, and is not FDIC insured. Some funds in a Venmo account can be held at Program Banks and, subject to conditions, may be eligible for pass-through FDIC insurance up to applicable limits. That insurance protects against the failure of a Program Bank, not the failure of the Venmo service. We checked Venmo's fee page on Nov 13, 2026.

The Venmo Mastercard debit card is a different product. Venmo says that card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license by Mastercard. A debit card is not the same thing as a free send from your bank account.

What a send costs

These figures are copied from Venmo's fee page on Nov 13, 2026:

• No fee to set up an account, and no monthly fee.
• No fee to send money to a Venmo account or a U.S. PayPal account using your Venmo balance, a debit card, or a bank account.
• A 3% fee to send money to a Venmo account or a U.S. PayPal account using a credit card.
• No fee when another person sends you a personal payment. Venmo says you are charged if the sender marks the payment as goods and services.
• No fee to add money from a linked bank.

Moving money back out is a different line. A standard transfer is $0. Venmo says that money is typically available in 1 to 3 business days at a linked bank account, and in about 48 hours on an eligible linked debit card. Instant Transfer is typically available in minutes and has a fee. The fee page lists electronic withdrawal, standard or Instant Transfer, as $0 or 1.75%, with a minimum fee of $0.25 and a maximum of $25.

Other fees exist, including cash deposits, check deposits, business profiles, and cryptocurrency. They are on the same fee page. This page does not copy every line.

Why this is the payments link

We are not ranking every payments app. Venmo is the one we have a referral link for, and the fee for an ordinary send from a bank, debit card, or balance is published as $0. The button below goes to a Venmo referral link. It can earn us a referral bonus. The offer a new person sees is the one on that page. A referral does not change the fees above, and it does not make Venmo a bank account.

Advertiser disclosure. If you open an account or sign up through a link on this page, the provider may pay us a fee. Using the link does not cost you extra. The fee helps us keep this site updated, and it does not change our rankings. How we make money

Try Venmo

The bank account is a separate decision

Venmo moves money. It does not replace the account that holds a paycheck. Our editor's choice for a new personal account is SoFi Checking and Savings. The other accounts we are reviewing are on the personal accounts page. If you want one place to see the bank account and the Venmo balance together, Monarch Money is the tracker we recommend.