Venmo is a money transfer company in the United States. You can do various transactions with Venmo, as we shall see later. One of the main ways you can use Venmo is to transfer money to a bank account instantly. Sometimes Venmo may have issues with instant transfers because of some technicalities with its systems. If your Venmo instant transfer not working there must be some issues with your account. We shall see the possible reasons later.
You need to know that Venmo is a product of PayPal even though it operates in the United States only. PayPal operates globally in that you can send and receive money from various countries. It is one of the best international money transfer companies globally, with millions of users worldwide. Amazingly, the platform supports various currencies, which makes it convenient.
Like PayPal, Venmo operates online, whereby you have to open your account online using a smartphone or tablet. A computer can also do the account opening. When opening your account, it is crucial to have a secure internet connection to ensure that your data is safe. Public WiFis are examples of insecure internet that you should avoid when dealing with online financial transactions since hackers can steal your data easily.
How to open a Venmo account?
As mentioned above, Venmo is an online platform that requires you to open an account online. Before opening an account, you should ensure that you have all the requirements. You should have a phone number and email address, be a US resident, be at least 18 years old, and own a bank account. If you meet the requirements, you can apply for your account.
Venmo allows you to sign up using an app from various sites using your mobile phone. It is the most convenient way of opening your account as you do not need to walk to a cyber cafe to do your account opening. And by the way, using public computers is risky since your data may leak. To open your Venmo account, you should follow the steps below.
- Download the Venmo mobile app for iOS or Android depending on your phone.
- Open the app
- Select your sign-up method and choose a secure password (it should be between 8 and 20 characters long, including at least one number or symbol).
- Verify your mobile phone number plus email address
- Add then verify your bank account.
Make sure that you only provide a US phone number to receive messages. Again, you must be living within the United States to make your application goes through. After account verification, you will be ready to start transacting online.
How do you add finances to Venmo?
Before you start using your Venmo account for transactions, you must add money to your Venmo account. There are various ways you can add finances to your account. They include the following.
i) Receive money from others
Venmo is a peer-to-peer money transfer that allows users to send money to one another. You can request money from others online by logging in to your account and following the steps below.
- Find the Pay or Request button on the screen
- Add the person to request money from
- Enter the amount and a note
- After you are ready, you can tap “Request” and wait for the funds to arrive
Your friends may send you or not, depending on your agreements.
ii) Deposit a check
If you have a check, you can deposit it using your Venmo app. You need to endorse your check, open your app and choose the check deposit feature. After that, you then take pictures of the check as per the guidelines and upload them for processing.
You should ensure that you update your app before undertaking the process. You can follow the steps below to deposit your check.
- Navigate to the “You” tab by choosing the single person.
- Tap the “Manage Balance.”
- Hit on “Cash a Check.”
To deposit a check in your Venmo account, you must first verify it. If not yet done so, the service will direct you to verify your account before proceeding with the deposit.
ii) Add money using your bank account
One can transfer money from a bank account to Venmo when the need for recharging arises. To use your bank account in the process, you must link it to Venmo. Earlier, I mentioned that you require a bank account when opening your account. To add finances from your bank account, you should follow the procedure below.
- Open your Venmo app.
- Navigate to the “You” tab by tapping the single person icon.
- Tap “Manage Balance” on your transactions feed.
- Enter the amount of money to transfer.
- Tap “Next” to proceed.
- Confirm the bank account to transfer money from.
- Review the transfer details and the estimated arrival date.
- Tap “Add now.”
After completing the above steps, funds will move from your bank to your Venmo account. Remember that once you complete the transfer, you cannot cancel it. The transfer typically takes 3-5 business days to appear on your Venmo balance.
Again, the money from the transfer does not appear in your account until the transfer is complete. Other factors can affect the transfer, such as weekends or holidays.
iii) Direct deposit
Venmo also accepts direct deposits. Therefore, you can receive your salary from your employer right in your account. Also, you can set up a direct deposit to receive government benefits or tax refunds. One can set up a direct deposit in the following manner.
- Go to the “You” tab by tapping the single person icon
- Tap the Settings in the top right
- Tap “Direct Deposit”
- Tap Show Account Number
- Copy the routing and account numbers to use them to fill out the necessary direct deposit form.
How to move money from Venmo to a bank account?
Apart from adding money from your bank account to your Venmo account, you can also transfer money from Venmo to a bank account. You should have already linked the bank to your Venmo account. The following is the procedure to transfer money from Venmo to a bank account.
- Navigate to the “You” tab by tapping the single person icon.
- Tap the “Add or Transfer” button.
- Enter or edit the amount to transfer to your bank.
- Tap “Instant” (for a fee) or “1-3 Biz Days” (no fee).
- Select your bank account or debit card.
- Confirm the transfer details
- Tap the green “Transfer” button.
The instant transfer is one of the best features you can utilize for your transfers. You can send finances within a short time in your account to deal with emergency issues such as buying food and paying hospital bills, among other transaction activities.
Above all, the fees charged are minute and cannot affect your financial status in a big way. But what does Venmo charge for instant transfer? Venmo charges a 1.5% fee (minimum fee of $0.25, a maximum fee of $15).
Why is the Venmo instant transfer not working?
Sometimes you may need to transfer finances instantly only to realize that the instant transfer is not going through. If the transfer is not working, there must be something wrong with your account. The following are the possible reasons why you find it challenging to transfer finances instantly.
- Having the wrong debit card and bank account.
- Not being within Venmo’s transfer limits.
- Have a different legal name on your card from the one on your Venmo account.
- Technical issues with servers of Venmo.
Looking at the issue whereby your card’s name differs from the one on Venmo, it is always advisable to use your card and not someone else’s. Furthermore, you should make sure that the order of your names is the same as that on your identity card. You can also solve the issue of transfer limits by verifying your Venmo account in the following manner.
- Open your Venmo app
- Navigate to the “You” tab by tapping the single person icon
- Hit on the Settings in the top right
- Select “Identity Verification”
Once your account is verified, you will be able to;
- Send more than $300 in one week (rolling 7-day period)
- Transfer more than $1000 to your bank in one week
- Act as a manager for a group account
- Get payments for goods & services via either a personal or business profile
You can only verify your account using the Venmo app. That is why I mentioned that the Venmo app is more convenient than the website. To have your account verified, Venmo requires various details. You will need to provide your legal name, date of birth, address, and Social Security Number (SSN) or Tax Identification Number. You may also need to provide more details when necessary. They include a US passport or driver’s license.
Bottom line
Venmo is a money transfer service that operates in the United States. The platform allows you to manage your account online, whereby you can add money and transfer funds to a bank account, among others. You must be within the US to be able to open your account. Also, your phone number should be a US one able to receive text messages. You can move money from Venmo to a bank account using instant or standard methods.
