Guys, yes, I am a registered old fart who does not have his sons handy to explain Venmo. And yes, I have Googled this, which is why I have turned to the forum members for help since a lot of you fellow old farts use Venmo and we speak the same language.

I want to receive payments via Venmo, which I understand is linked to my PayPal account which I have used for quite a few years.

Specifically, what information do I give to a buyer in order to make a payment: User name, email, or account phone number?

Thank you - you may now laugh at a guy who has an iPhone 11 with an attached rotary dial!

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Do you already have Venmo already installed, and an account already created?

If so, open the App. In the top left corner of the home screen is a circle where your profile picture would be if you had one. Tap that. Underneath your name is an @ tag. @redleg29 or whatever.

The @ tag is your payment address on Venmo.

Thank you, Aeteocles. Yes, I have an account and I see the @tag name.
I also put the account on private, which I gather is the best way to go?
Thanks and take care.

Forty minutes searching the net and it was nailed here in five minutes.
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Venmo is owned by PayPal and works much the same way, but it is a separate app entirely.

There are many different ways to take payments. You can give them your username and they can search for you, or you can find them and "request" money.

Venmo also has a scan function. It gives you a specific QR code that you can either show to a customer, send to a customer, or print out and attach to whatever is convenient (say the checkout counter or vendor booth if that applies). The customer can use their phone to scan that code and it will pull you right up.

Venmo is owned by PayPal. Venmo is an app independent of PP. It does not link to your PP account. You are supposed to link it to a verified bank account or in some cases a credit card.

Why Venmo vs PP? Venmo is marketed for money transfers between family, friends, and others you trust, b/c Venmo provides very little buyer/seller protections. If you need that, then use PP.

When you tranfer funds from Venmo to your bank account, they are completed much faster than PP. In my experience, my Venmo-to-bank tranfers have usually been completed in less than 12 hours.

If someone wants to pay you via Venmo, they can look up your account by name, email, or phone#. If you know someone else's Venmo account name, you can send them payment requests.

If your bank offers Zelle, that's another payment platform worth looking into, and payments go directly from bank account to bank account.

From someone who's spent the last 20+ years working in banking tech, you do not want to use Venmo if at all possible. Venmo is a financial tool whereby your phone number or email address is tied to a bank account, so when people use Venmo to send money to your phone number or email address, the Venmo system routes it into your linked bank account (or to what we'll call a holding account within Venmo where you can use it to pay for other transactions). That's how its 'supposed' to work. The wrinkle is that Venmo the company lives just outside the financial system (i.e. private company) and should anything go wrong with the transaction, you have very little recourse.

For people wishing to use this sort of payment option, I usually refer them to Zelle. Zelle works very similarly to Venmo, but is owned by four of the largest banks (Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo and BofA if memory serves) and has rolled out in dozens of other banks nationally. Zelle transactions occur solely within the banking system, and as such, are a bit more secure. I suggest you check with your bank and see if they support Zelle.

Venmo is legit, but there are few protections for transactions that go awry.

Dunno about the last year or so, but last year, and before that, it was marked as a way to pay people you actually know, NOT as a way to initiate transactions between strangers.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, use Venmo to pay people who you do not know in real life. Not as in people you met once at a bar, know from "around the block" or "around the corner." REAL PEOPLE, who you know their full name, address, and others associated with.

I see scams on Venmo all the time professionally. There aren't many ways to actually get any recourse through Venmo if a transaction goes south.

This app has it's uses, and is as secure as you make it. Your info and card won't get compromised unless you make poor decisions most likely (or at least not more likely than any other means of credit card payment). But if you use it with strangers, you will eventually get burned, because they person screwed you, not the app.

If you go out with friends and use Venmo as a simple means of splitting the tab without making the waitress split the bill 8 ways, you're fine.

If you are using Venmo to take/send payments to strangers for internet sales or payments... You're eventually gonna get fucked over.

Kevin

PayPal for purchases.

Venmo, Zelle, etc between people that you know in real life. Paying a friend back for picking up groceries for you. Rent payment to your landlord. Commission payment to your top salesperson. Etc.

Why?

Their terms of service say so. Also, because their transactions are unilaterally reversible in case of "fraud." A person making payment can claim that the payment was fraudulently made, and the bank can reverse the charge. It would be the same if you deposited a check and someone later claimed that the check was written out fraudulently. The payments are reversed, and the bank/platform expects you to handle deficiency in payment the same way you would handle a bad check--small claims and collections. Inconvenient if you know the person in real life, pretty much impossible if the buyer is from the internet.

PayPal has buyer and seller protection. There is a resolution process that, theoretically, protects you as a seller--prove that you shipped or delivered the service or product as advertised, and PayPal takes on the risk that the payer flakes on the payment end.

The business models between PayPal and Zelle/Venmo are different. PayPal explicitly charges a fee to use their service and provide purchase protection. Venmo and Zelle make money the same way checking accounts make money--off of tiny amounts of interest when your money is sitting at rest in your account.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
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Also, because their transactions are unilaterally reversible in case of "fraud." A person making payment can claim that the payment was fraudulently made, and the bank can reverse the charge. It would be the same if you deposited a check and someone later claimed that the check was written out fraudulently. The payments are reversed, and the bank/platform expects you to handle deficiency in payment the same way you would handle a bad check--small claims and collections.

…

PayPal has buyer and seller protection. There is a resolution process that, theoretically, protects you as a seller--prove that you shipped or delivered the service or product as advertised, and PayPal takes on the risk that the payer flakes on the payment end.

…

Actually Zelle and Venmo will NOT reverse a transaction. Any error is on the person who made it. They may contact an “accidental” recipient and ask they refund a payment, but they can’t force it.

As for PP’s so-called “protection” they have screwed me as both a buyer and a seller.

As a seller, I sold an item on eBay (computer memory) that was tested and known good. Clearly marked in multiple places as no return as I had no control of handling and being sensitive to static, etc if you toast it isn’t my fault.

Two days shy of the period to make a complaint, buyer asked to return and I declined. Next thing I am hit with a PP complaint. PP sided with buyer but told me “you don’t lose out because they will return your item”. Except it isn’t returned in same condition, I sold the computer it came out of and had no way to test it at that point.

As a seller, I never received an item I paid for. PP went to bat for me and took my side, but since the scammer had no money in their PP account, PP was unable to recover or refund my money. Oh, they said they were sorry, but at the end of the day I didn’t have the money or the item.

I now use Zelle and Venmo, but only after researching the process for refund/reversed. In the case of true fraud, someone hacks your account, etc. you may have some protections, but if YOU authorized the transaction, neither will reverse it for you. It is up to the recipient to do the “right” thing.

For that reason, I will only pay a request from someone that way I know it is legit to avoid accidentally making a payment to the wrong person and I always send a request for payment to reduce chance of someone accidentally sending my money to someone else.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Actually Zelle and Venmo will NOT reverse a transaction. Any error is on the person who made it.

Correct, but as I noted, Zelle transactions stay within the current banking infrastructure, so you have more controls over the process than using Venmo which operates as a private company outside the banking system. Both are unsecure compared to legacy banking systems, but both have their uses. You just have to be very careful with them.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
For people wishing to use this sort of payment option, I usually refer them to Zelle. ... I suggest you check with your bank and see if they support Zelle.

And there's the rub. If your banking institution does not support Zelle, then the only way you can use Zelle is by linking it to a debit card.

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Originally posted by KevinCW:
If you go out with friends and use Venmo as a simple means of splitting the tab without making the waitress split the bill 8 ways, you're fine.

That's the way I use it. (Only, in my case, to split greens fees.)

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:
If you are using Venmo to take/send payments to strangers for internet sales or payments... You're eventually gonna get fucked over.

Which is why I would be disinclined to use it that way. I have PayPal for that kind of thing.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
For people wishing to use this sort of payment option, I usually refer them to Zelle. ... I suggest you check with your bank and see if they support Zelle.

And there's the rub. If your banking institution does not support Zelle, then the only way you can use Zelle is by linking it to a debit card.

Which as you can well imagine, I would never recommend. If your bank doesn't support Zelle, I always suggest people open a Capital1 360 checking account. Totally free and completely supported by Zelle. Then you have numerous ways to get the money from the Capital1 account into your regular account. It also isolates these online transactions from your regular bank account which to me personally is a good thing.

Thanks for all the replies - lot of information I would have never found.

I have used PayPal for many years without problems. It is linked to my private "gun" account in which I keep a balance of less than $50, then add cash as needed. This minimizes possible lost / PayPal "disputed" takeback and keeps the wife in the dark re gun stuff.

I opened Venmo only to receive payments from established forum members - never to make payments, and the account is "Private".

My bank does not support Zelle.

Thanks again.
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I've never had a problem with Venmo, but started using zelle once it popped up because my bank supports it. Either one is fine IF you are careful. If you send money to the wrong person, which is easy to do by simply getting the phone number wrong, you're screwed. If it's someone you've never dealt with, send them $1 first, make sure they recieve it, then send the rest.

I just got an email from Venmo of impending changes. Venmo is looking more like PayPal. I'm not all that surprised. Since Venmo has established a sizable user base, I didn't expect them to be free forever.

Here's what Venmo users have to look forward to:

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1) You can now select a public, friends, or private setting for your friends list, and opt out of being seen on the friends lists of other Venmo users. Review and manage your privacy controls by going to Settings > Privacy in the Venmo app.

2) Effective July 20, 2021, the Venmo Purchase Protection Program will expand eligibility for payments received into a user’s business profile or that are identified as for goods and services. To be eligible for the expanded Purchase Protection Program, sellers will need to meet additional requirements described in our User Agreement .

3) Effective July 20, 2021, users who receive payments that are identified by senders as for goods and services will be charged a seller transaction fee of 1.9% + $0.10.

4) Effective August 2, 2021, the fee for instant transfers will be 1.5% per instant transfer ($0.25 minimum fee, $15 maximum fee).

My only advice is, as you run naked into the woods screaming, if in Florida, remember to apply insect repellant.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I just got an email from Venmo of impending changes.

And with those changes, Zelle should have some real opportunities to expand the platform at Venmo's expense. Millennials love Venmo because its hip and trendy, but also because its been 'free'. Put a cost on it and my bet is many will begin to look for options.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Millennials love Venmo because its hip and trendy, but also because its been 'free'. Put a cost on it and my bet is many will begin to look for options.

Except, for the use to which most of those put the app, such as sending money to a friend when splitting a bill or whatever, it'll still be free.

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If you go out with friends and use Venmo as a simple means of splitting the tab without making the waitress split the bill 8 ways, you're fine

Venmo is unsecured, and can go awry in a myriad of ways. As a former bartender, just carry cash and don't turn the waitstaff into an accounting major. I once was the chaperone on a 10 intern lunch and they wanted the waitress to split the bill 10 ways! Are you kidding me, you cant buy your buddy a $20 lunch?!

Is it really hard for people to carry cash? Am I the only person in America who has a billfold?

quote:

Originally posted by Rev. A. J. Forsyth:

quote:

If you go out with friends and use Venmo as a simple means of splitting the tab without making the waitress split the bill 8 ways, you're fine

Venmo is unsecured, and can go awry in a myriad of ways. As a former bartender, ...

As a retired I.T. professional, I'm curious as to what you mean by "Venmo is unsecured" and what are the "myriad of ways" in which it can go awry?

quote:

Originally posted by Rev. A. J. Forsyth:
... just carry cash and don't turn the waitstaff into an accounting major.

Party of ten. One individual pays the tab--either in cash or by CC. The other nine reimburse that one individual for their share either in cash, by writing them a check, or via PayPal, Venmo, Apple Cash, or Zelle. Why would the waitstaff care?

quote:

Originally posted by Rev. A. J. Forsyth:
Is it really hard for people to carry cash?

Is it really so hard to let others conduct their affairs as they see fit?

quote:

Originally posted by Rev. A. J. Forsyth:
Am I the only person in America who has a billfold?

Probably not, but why do you care?

Btw: I don't carry my cash in my wallet. I use a money clip. Is that ok?