Does Venmo work with Zelle [Complete Guide]

If you are curious to know if Venmo works with Zelle, this post will help you get the answer. Venmo is a great payments app that makes it easy to make payments to friends, family etc. with social touch, while Zelle is almost instant money transfer service that allows you to pay just by using email id or mobile number of the person.

Venmo and Zelle Compatability

Venmo operates as a payments app that allows you to store money in your account (as a wallet) as well as pay directly from a bank account or debit / cred card that you link on Venmo app. Venmo is owned by Paypal.

On the other hand, Zelle is a money transfer service which does not store any funds but facilitates movement of funds between two bank accounts in fast way, using only the email id or US registered mobile number of recipient . Zelle is owned by consortium of banks like Bank of America, Capital One, BB&T, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, US Bank, and Wells Fargo (under a private company “Early Warning Service”)

Does Venmo work with Zelle?

You can use Zelle with Venmo by adding the Venmo debit card as a payment method in Zelle App. This way you can transfer funds from your Venmo balance,using Zelle service using funds

While Venmo isn’t a bank but a payment app. However, it does offer a debit card which can be used to link with Zelle. You will need to download the Zelle App and add a Venmo debit card as a payment method. There is no way to use Zelle inside of Venmo app though.

Zelle allows you to move money between US banks only. And the Venmo debit card being issued by  The Bancorp Bank does work on Zelle, as Zelle supports debit cards from popular payment networks. You cannot however add a Cash App debit card to Zelle for some reason.

Also, note that Zelle allows you to add only a Debit Card as payment method. Don’t expect to add any credit card in Zelle by Venmo or any other bank.

Note: This method may no longer work as lately users have not been able to add the Venmo debit card to Zelle.

Steps to Add Venmo Debit Card to Zelle and use Venmo with Zelle

  • Download and install the Zelle App
  • Sign up using your registered mobile number or email id
  • On the home screen, tap on the gear icon (on top left) which opens the menu
  • Next tap on the “Account” option
  • If you have already linked a bank account to Zelle, it will shown the existing bank account and you get an option to “Switch Accounts”. Tap on this option.
  • Next you need to enter Venmo debit card details like the no., expiration date, CVV etc.
  • Next you need to enter the billing address associated with your Venmo card

You will get a confirmation message that the card details are updated.

Make sure you are entering the information which matches exactly the information that Venmo has about the card. This includes:

  • Name as it appears on your debit card
  • Address, city, state, zip code
  • Debit card number
  • Expiration date
  • CVV number

Zelle is supposed to be used only with people you trust . It does not hold any money on account and does not provide any buyer protection. So avoid using it with strangers or for buying goods and services.

Moving money from Zelle to Venmo

For making a payment using Zelle, both the sender and receiver needs to be regisetered on Zelle. While you can link your Venmo debit card in Zelle app and make the payment to another Zelle account using this. But don’t expect to make a payment directly from Zelle to your friend or family member’s Venmo account.

The receiver also needs to have Zelle account and the transfer works using the email id or US registered mobile number, which the recipient has registered on Zelle, for the bank account or debit card.

Comparing Venmo and Zelle

As told earlier, while both Venmo and Zelle make it possible to send and receive payments. But there are lot of differences between the ways app works.

Zelle is actually a service which is integrated within most popular banking apps. For the banks which do not directly support Zelle, you need to download Zelle and add the bank account or debit card to be able to use Zelle.

Venmo is more of digital wallet

ParticularsZelleVenmo
Owned byConsortium of banks (Company- Early Warning Service) Paypal
Type of ServiceMoney transfer service between bank accounts (Does not hold money only used for transfer of money)Digital Wallet + Payments service (so you can hold money in Venmo as well as use a linked payment method)
Fees for transferNo fees levied by Zelle (however your bank may charge their own fees for using Zelle)No fees if using Venmo debit card or wallet balance (3% fees on using linked credit card)
Transfer timeAlmost instantInstant if between 2 Venmo accounts using Venmo wallet funds

For Cash out to own bank- Depends on the option – instant transfer (with fees) or standard transfer (1-3 days)

Wrap Up

So there you go. While it is not a direct way to use Venmo with Zelle, you can still add a Venmo debit card to your Zelle Account as a payment method, which gives you the ability to use Zelle transfer service using Venmo funds and transfer to your friends and family members who have a Zelle account.

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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.

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