Venmo is regulated by the United States Treasury Department and must comply with the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) for money transfers. That means Venmo sometimes requires a SSN to comply with federal regulations. If you need to provide your SSN, do it directly in the app.
If you don't have an SSN or ITIN, you won't be able to complete identity verification. You're welcome to continue using Venmo without verifying your identity. You can still make payments to other users or businesses funded by your chosen payment method (bank account, credit card, or debit card).
Welcome to Venmo!
You must be in the United States and have a U.S. bank account to use the Venmo services.
Open the app and tap on “Sign up” to create a new profile. Even if you don't know how to create a Venmo account, the process is pretty straightforward: you'll be prompted to enter your email address and phone number and create a password.
To receive money: Give your Venmo user name or the email or phone number associated with your Venmo account to the sender. Or supply them with your Venmo scan code in person or via text, email or AirDrop (iOS only)
So, which is better — Zelle or Venmo? Both of the payment services are decently secure, have user-friendly interfaces, and allow you to conveniently send money. Zelle stands out from Venmo with its absence of instant transfer fees, but lacks the wallet feature.
You must have a U.S.-based cell phone that can send and receive text messages from short codes. This number can't be on file with another Venmo account.
When your payment is on hold, the money still belongs to you—it's just temporarily on hold. Held payments are automatically released within 21 days, meaning that you'll have access to the funds from any held payment once the hold period expires.
If you need to submit additional information about your name and date of birth, the following unexpired documents will work: U.S. passport. Driver license. U.S. government-issued ID.
When you receive payments for goods and services on our platform, the IRS requires Venmo to report that payment activity if you reach the reporting threshold for these transactions. You can find the latest info about the current tax year's reporting thresholds on the IRS website.
A: To keep Cash App safe, customers who haven't verified their identity on Cash App have limited access. To verify customers, we ask for their legal name, date of birth, and the last four digits of their Social Security Number (SSN).
What happens if I don't have a SSN for PayPal? If you're asked by PayPal to provide your SSN and you do not, your account may be limited or closed.
If you don't want your transactions to be public, go to the settings screen on your smartphone app. Click on the profile icon, then the settings icon. Select "Privacy" and set the Default Privacy Settings to "Private" (not Public or Friends).
Yes, Venmo is generally safe to use; however, there are always risks when using the mobile payment app. Some risks you should be aware of include Venmo scams, account compromises and data breaches. Typically, people use Venmo to pay friends back when they owe money or split the bill at a restaurant.
Yes, a social security number is required to enroll in Bill Payment and Zelle services.
3. Potential scams and hackers. The biggest downside to using Venmo is the potential for your money to be stolen. If a hacker gains access to your Venmo, it's pretty easy to change the associated bank account – so the hacker could change the account to their own and transfer the money in your Venmo to their bank.
Venmo uses Plaid to verify your bank account information and, periodically, your bank account balance to check if you have enough funds to cover certain transactions.
Should I Give Venmo My SSN? Receiving a request for your Social Security Number (SSN) should make you suspicious. However, it's important to remember that Venmo (and other P2P payment platforms) are, in fact, legally required to ask for your SSN in accordance with certain government regulations.
Is it better to add a bank or card on Venmo? Venmo's security applies to both linked bank accounts and cards, so it's up to you to choose which you want to use to add money on Venmo.
Never share your Venmo login or account information with anyone in a text message or email. If you're unsure if an offer is legitimate, check by contacting Venmo's customer support.
Venmo is free to use for its original function, which was to send and receive money to and from friends and associates. It's also free to use to pay participating merchants. However, if you use a linked credit card to pay anyone, you will be charged a 3% fee.
No payment protection: Zelle doesn't offer any payment protection beyond the option to cancel a payment to an unenrolled recipient. That's fairly standard for other money transfer apps, too.
Is Cash App safer than Venmo? Not necessarily. Cash App and Venmo are money transfer apps, which are inherently risky since their services involve sending money to other people. But if you stick to sending money to friends and family, you likely won't run into any issues involving scams.