How to Add Money to Venmo | Complete Guide

Venmo is a great app that has simplified the way you can send or receive money with a cool social touch. If you are looking for an easy guide on how to add money to your Venmo Account, you are on the right post. We will cover all the ways to add money to your Venmo account, including how to add money to Venmo instantly, add money from your debit card or add money without using a bank account, etc.

Venmo, a product of Paypal, is a convenient option to make payments to your friends and family. It is especially handy in paying for common expenses like splitting your ride fare, gifts for common friends, etc.

And actually, you don’t even need to have funds in your Venmo Account to make these payments. You can make payments even directly using funds from a bank account or debit card which you have linked with your Venmo app. However, if you chose to use a linked credit card to make the payment, it is chargeable to 3% Venmo fees.

But many times, you want to keep the funds in your Venmo balance, to make it easier and faster for payments. So let’s look at the ways to put money in your Venmo balance.

Pre-requisite to Adding Money to Venmo

Before adding money, make sure you have done the following-

  • Completed the Identity verification on Venmo App
  • Applied for and received the Venmo debit card without which you DON’T get the option to add money on Venmo App
  • Linked your bank account/debit card or credit card to Venmo App which will be used to add money (we will cover this in the steps)

As per Venmo setup, you need to have a Venmo debit card to add money to Venmo. It’s only when you have a Venmo Debit Card, that you will see the option “Manage Balance” [or “Add or Transfer” option in the new version of the app] which allows you to add money from a linked bank account directly to their Venmo balance.

How to Add Money to Venmo?

To add money to your Venmo balance, you can use any of the following ways:

  • Way 1: Add Money from a linked bank account or debit card (No charge but takes 3-5 business days)
  • Way 2: Add Money from a linked credit card (3% charges for Credit Card)
  • Way 3: Add money to Venmo instantly from a linked bank account
  • Way 4: Request and receive payments from other friends (no charges and can be instant)

Using a linked bank account to add money is convenient as well as free, but will take time. Note as per Venmo terms, you should have a Venmo debit card to be able to access this option.

On the other hand, adding money from your Credit Card is subject to a 3% fee.

If you are a heavy Venmo user, you can also consider enabling the auto-reload feature on your Venmo Debit Card. This option lets you complete purchases on Venmo by directly pulling funds from your bank account.

So save your buck and link your bank account or debit card to Venmo if you want to add money for free.

Another important point to reiterate is that you don’t actually need to have a balance in your Venmo account to make a payment. You can directly pay from the Venmo app using funds from a linked payment method i.e. a bank account or a debit or credit card that you have linked in your Venmo App.

Another way to add money to Venmo can be adding a gift card to Venmo as a payment method and transferring the money from such a gift card (a gift card works as a prepaid card). I have written a post that gives a detailed guide on how to add a gift card to Venmo where you get an idea of what gift cards can be added and the steps involved.

For new users, it is important to remember that Venmo has its standard verification period before you are able to fully use your account. So if you have opened a new Venmo account and have not completed the Identity verification, it will allow you to do transactions only up to $299.99 in the first week. This limit increases to $4999.99 for a verified account.

Also Read: Your Venmo Funds may not be FDIC insured unless you meet certain specific conditions. They don’t earn any interest either. So if you want to withdraw and transfer funds out of your Venmo balance check the easy guide on How to Cash Out Venmo balance [Complete Guide]

Way 1: How to Add money to Venmo account from Debit Card

Venmo allows you to link your bank account or debit card as a payment method and you can add money to Venmo from such linked account.

Steps to add money to Venmo From Bank Account or Debit Card:

Step 1- Link your debit card to Venmo as a Payment Method

The first step in adding money is to add or link the debit card or Bank Account as a payment method in Venmo App. This can then be used to add money to Venmo as well as cash out your Venmo funds. You can skip this step if you have already added it. Follow the steps below to add a debit card or bank account to Venmo:

  • Tap on the “Me” tab by tapping on your profile picture or initials
  • Next Tap on “Settings” (gear icon)
  • Next, go to the “Payment Methods
  • Next Tap “Add a bank or card...”
  • Next select “Bank” to link your bank account with online banking details or “Card” if you want to add a debit card
  • For adding a card- enter the debit card information manually or by using the mobile’s camera by snapping a photo of the card

If you are choosing to add a bank account-Select your preferred verification method. You can verify your bank account using either Instant Verification through Plaid with online banking credentials (happens instantly) or manually using micro-transfer (takes 1-3 business days)

If your bank does not support being added via Plaid, you can check this guide to use Venmo without Plaid.

Step 2: Open the Menu (Me tab i.e. Person Icon)

If you’re on the new version of the Venmo app, go to the “Me” tab (previously you would use the ☰ icon) by tapping on your profile picture or initials

Step 3: Next Tap on “Manage Balance”

Tap on “Manage Balance” from the menu options which takes you to the option to “Add Money“.

Step 4: Enter the amount and tap on “Done”

Now input the amount you want to transfer and tap on “Next” to continue.

Step 5: Confirm the Debit Card to be used

Here you need to select the debit card or bank account which you have added under Step 1 which will be used to make the transfer.

Step 6: Review the transfer information

Here confirm the details carefully as the transfer cannot be canceled. It is important to note that it takes 3-5 business days for the money to reflect in your Venmo balance.

This is where Cash App is much more useful as it allows instant loading of its account using the bank transfer option.

Venmo has recently rolled out a feature called “Instant Add Money” -see details under Way 3.

Step 7: Initiate transfer using “Add Money”

Once you click on “Add Money”, the transfer is initiated and is not reversible.

Way 2: Add money to your Venmo account from your Credit Card

  • Follow the details mentioned under Step 1 as explained under “Way 1” above. Here, instead of adding debit card details, add your credit card details in the normal way.
  • Select the Linked Credit Card when you want to make the payment via Venmo

This is not a way to add money to the Venmo balance, but rather a way to use the funds from a credit card to make payments via Venmo. However, do note there is a 3% standard Venmo fee to make a payment to a friend or family member via Venmo using a credit card.

Also, some credit card providers may charge cash advance fees if you use their credit card to make payments to friends on Venmo. 

The Venmo 3% transaction fee may not apply for making purchases from authorized merchants when purchasing online or at the store, even if you use a credit card since it is borne by the merchant.

Way 3: Add Money to Venmo Instantly from Linked Bank Account

If you have an active Venmo debit card and have linked your bank account to Venmo (using Plaid or manual verification) and not via a bank debit card, then you can even add funds instantly to Venmo (up to $500 limit). This is a new feature called “Instant Add Money” that has been made available to some Venmo users as of now and may be rolled out to all users.

If you tap “Instant” you’ll see the money added to your Venmo account right away. Please know that it will take a few days for the charge to reflect on your bank statement (typically 3-5 business days). 

  1. Open your Venmo app and log in
  2. Next tap on the Me tab (your profile picture or initials) to open the menu
  3. Next tap on “Manage Balance
  4. Next Tap on “Instant
  5. Enter the amount of money you want to add ( up to the Instant Add Money limit which is $500 per week)

Note that with Instant transfer, even though money is made available to your Venmo account instantly, it may take 3-5 business days to actually debit your bank account. This option was introduced to get money in your Venmo account right away in urgent situations – like when you’re next in line at checkout and realize the money in your Venmo account won’t cover the transaction.

If you don’t see the Instant deposit option yet, you can explore Way 4 below for urgent situations.

Way 4: Add Money to Venmo Instantly by requesting from Friends [Without Bank Account]

You can even request money from friends on Venmo. Probably, the easiest way to add money to Venmo instantly is to have your friend Venmo it to you, when there is an urgency. This also works as one of the ways you can add money without a bank account.

  1. Tap on Me (profile picture or ) on the Venmo app home page
  2. Next tap on “Search People
  3. Next enter the name or @username of the friend from who you want to request money from
  4. Tap “Feed” or “Between You
  5. Tap “Pay or Request
  6. Enter the amount of money you want to receive
  7. Tap “Request” (or Pay)

Can you add physical cash to Venmo at an ATM or any retail store?

Currently, Venmo does not offer any facility to add money at a convenience store or at an ATM

Automate the reloading of Venmo balance using Venmo debit card

An easy way to simplify the reloading of Venmo balance is to use the auto-reload feature.

You can turn reloads on or off at any time by navigating to Settings → Venmo Debit Card in the Venmo app.

If you have a Venmo debit card, this also allows you to use the auto-reload feature which adds money to your Venmo balance in $10 increments from your linked bank account.

Any excess funds from the reloaded funds will wait in your account for your next purchase.

Example- If you intend to make a purchase of $35 and have $10 in your Venmo balance, the auto-reload will add $30 (in multiple of $10) so that your balance is sufficient to cover the purchase.

You need to make sure your linked bank account has enough balance for this purpose.

In such cases, there is usually a gap between the reload trigger which takes place when completing the purchase, and the time when Venmo actually pulls the funds from your bank account- usually 1-5 business days.

You also need to note that the Venmo reload facility is available only to cover purchases and not for ATM withdrawals

Limits to Adding Money to Venmo

Another important point to note is that Venmo has certain limits to the amount that you can add to your Venmo balance. The limit is a $1,500 weekly rolling limit for transferring funds into your Venmo balance. So you cannot add more than $1500 in a week to your Venmo balance.

The limit on reloading to your Venmo Debit Card will vary based on your individual transaction history. You can check the limits in the Venmo Debit Card section of the Venmo app.

Wrap Up

While Venmo offers a number of ways to add money to your Venmo balance, it is best to use your linked bank account as against using a credit card which is subject to transfer charges. However, you also need to consider the time factor of 3-5 business days for funds to be available in your Venmo account, and its not an instant transfer.

Alternatively, it may make sense to use auto-reload on your Venmo debit card to take care of immediate purchase requirements. Venmo also doesn’t require you to actually have funds in your Venmo balance and you can directly make payment using your linked bank account itself.

Photo of author

Dev

I have a passion for finance and technology. On this blog, I share helpful information on products and services that we use in our daily lives and simplify things I learned the hard way.

2 thoughts on “How to Add Money to Venmo | Complete Guide”

  1. Hi, I really appreciate your article. I have venmo and PayPal but am not real familiar with all the different options and possibilities, settings, etc. I guess the best way 2ask my question is this….I have a WF checkng account, credit card, and like I said venmo & PayPal. I have cards 4all of them as well. Here’s my problem- I am paid in VISA/MC Prepaid gift cards a few hundred monthly and the rate for app to exchange to cash is about 77cents on the dollar, which is absurd and I can NOT afford 2lose almost 25% of my earnings. How can I do this another way?? Please help

    Reply
    • Thanks, Venmo may allow you to use the gift card as a payment method to pay for your daily transactions or purchases, once you have added it to Venmo. You can check this post on how to add Visa /MC gift card to Venmo. You can also find videos on YouTube on how to convert or cash a Visa gift card at low fees, if it allowed as per the gift card terms.

      Reply

Leave a Comment