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How to add money to your Venmo account

You might not be able to.
By
August 22, 2023

Are you trying to add money to Venmo? Many of you might not be able to. This feature is only available to some users. Let’s take you through the ins and outs of the process.

QUICK ANSWER

You can only add money to your Venmo account if you have a Venmo Mastercard Debit Card. If you do, launch the Venmo app and go to Venmo > Cards, and tap on your debit card. Go to Add Money, pick your funding source, enter the amount, hit Next, then confirm by tapping on Add.


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Editor’s note: We’ve verified that these steps are the same on both Android and iOS.

Can I add money to my Venmo account?

Venmo stock photo 4
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Venmo doesn’t allow all users to deposit funds to their balance. Only those who have signed up for a Venmo Mastercard Debit Card can add money to the account at will. This ensures that any debit purchase is covered by the balance on your Venmo account, which the card is linked to.

If you don’t have a Venmo debit card, you can only add funds to your account if someone sends it to you. You can then choose to keep the balance within Venmo to use it for future payments or transfers. One way to get around this might be to simply ask a friend to send you some money through Venmo, in exchange for cash.

Can I pay through Venmo without a balance?

Now, just because you don’t hold a Venmo balance, it doesn’t mean you can’t send money or pay others through the popular app. You can make payments using a linked bank account, debit card, or credit card.

How to send money through Venmo:

  1. Open the Venmo app.
  2. Tap on the Pay/Request button.
  3. Find and select the user you want to send money to. Then tap on Pay.
  4. Select your payment method of choice. You can also choose Add bank or card to add a new payment method.
  5. Hit Pay when you’ve made your choice. Venmo will credit the recipient and pull the money from the selected account.

How to add money to Venmo

Now, if you have a Venmo Mastercard Debit Card and want to add funds to your balance, it’s very easy to do so. Just remember that Venmo only allows you to add money to your account using a linked and verified bank account, or a debit card. You can also cash a check or set up direct deposit.

How to add funds to Venmo:

  1. Open the Venmo app.
  2. Tap on the Cards tab.
  3. Tap on your debit card image.
  4. Select Add money.
  5. Pick your funding source. These are From bank or debit card, Cash a Check, or Direct Deposit.
  6. Enter the amount, pick the funding source, and hit Next.
  7. Select Add.

FAQs

Not all users can add funds to their Venmo balances. Only those with a Venmo Mastercard Debit Card have this ability.

Most money in Venmo isn’t FDIC insured. Only those who have used direct deposit, deposited checks, or purchased cryptocurrencies get passthrough FDIC insurance through Venmo’s partner banks. Associated accounts also get passthrough FDIC insurance if an adult sponsors a teen account.

Unless you know your money qualifies for FDIC passthrough insurance, it is not recommended to leave large balances within a Venmo account. This is because the government won’t insure your cash if anything wrong happens with the app or company. Something as familiar as a bankruptcy or falling victim to fraud can make your money disappear. It’s better if you only hold enough money in there to cover your purchases and transfers.

The actual process of requesting a transfer should take no longer than a minute or two. The processing time, on the other hand, can last three to five business days. Some banks allow instant transfers, but doing this will incur a fee.

Venmo doesn’t support adding cash to your balance using an ATM. You also get no options to add cash in-store, in bank branches, or using any other cash methods. Transfers need to be done through the app.

There is no direct way to send money from Cash App to Venmo. You can transfer money from Cash App to your bank, then transfer from the bank to Venmo. Additionally, Venmo debit card users have reported successful transfers by adding the Venmo debit card as a linked card to Cash App, then sending an instant transfer. You might also be able to use the Venmo-provided routing and account numbers. It might be worth a try.

Though PayPal owns Venmo, these apps don’t work tightly together. In fact, you can’t even send money from one service to the other. You’ll have to transfer money from PayPal to your bank account, then transfer from the bank to Venmo. You could also try linking your Venmo debit card to PayPal and using an instant transfer.