Venmo Reviews - What Is It?
DO NOT USE Venmo!!! You Must Read This Review!
Fully Researched: Price, User Feedback and More!
Venmo is a cash transfer service for personal use, which is owned by Braintree Payments and PayPal. It was launched in June 2012 and intends to enable its users to make direct card payments to one another or bank transfers using a mobile phone app. Debit and bank transfers are free through the service but you will be charged a per-transaction fee on credit card payments. The mobile phone functionality and free transfer service make Venmo one of the most low-cost and convenient options for cash transfers available at present. A new feature of the service enables businesses to receive payment from users within the businesses' mobile apps. It is quite easy to send funds through Venmo. The user opens the app with PIN or a fingerprint and enters their username, email address, phone number, or Twitter handle of the individual they want to pay or charge. Then the user specifies the transaction type through a Pay/Request button and enters the amount to be charged or paid. One can provide a brief description of the transfer. After initiating the payment, the money is sent. The company sends a confirmation to both parties via email.
Venmo is available for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry. You can also access the service through the official website of the company. Iqram Magdon-Ismail and Andrew Kortina are listed as the co-founders of the service. Let us take a look at the main points of Venmo. The service fully discloses its simple pricing model on the official website. Venmo offers free bank transfers, but one needs to pay flat per-transaction fees for business payments and credit card payments. The company behind the service has a B rating with the Better Business Bureau with 356 complaints within the last 2 years. During our research, we have encountered more than 100 public complaints. The company itself is not as reputable or popular as it may seem. To find out whether Venmo is worth using, let us take a closer look at what this service does exactly, as well as at real customer reviews available online.
Customer Reviews - Does Venmo Really Work?
Currently the service does not charge its users to send direct bank transfers or debit payments, and it makes its 3% fee for credit card payments, as it is claimed on the official website. It is explained on the site that business users will get Braintree's per-transaction pricing. Its pricing model is said not to involve any hidden fees or misleading rate quotes. We have found more than 100 negative reviews on Venmo service on different consumer protection websites. The service has a very low rating on such reputable websites as www.consumeraffairs.com and www.yelp.com. Some reviewers accuse the company of being a scam. A lot of complaints are related to unexpected fund holds placed on users' accounts, usually as a result of payment activity that is estimated as potentially fraudulent by Venmo. In many cases, users did not realize that their funds could be held, or that they were involved in prohibited transactions. While we don't blame Venmo for trying to prevent fraud, it seems that the company's clients could be made aware of the chance of fund holds before using the service.
Some users claim that their payments were delayed or lost as a result of errors in account setup or unauthorized use of their account. The service is meant mainly for personal use, so users are not recommended to conduct regular or large-scale business transactions through the app. Some other complaints involve annoyance with the customer service issues and app's social media integration. Venmo offers email and phone support to its users, but these customer service lines are managed by PayPal or Braintree. Let us take a look at some actual customer reviews left online.
One customer is dissatisfied with the fact that his Venmo account is frozen again. He has been waiting for a response for five days, sent the customer service his ID's, copies of credit cards, bank statements, and they still haven't solved his problem. The company simply froze the man's account and does not respond at all. The customer service told him that he would have to wait since their "Account Specialist" has other customers too. It seems as if his issue doesn't matter. The man is going to retrieve his money when the account becomes available and never to use Venmo again! Another cardholder describes a situation that she sent a payment of $1000.00 to her friend, and her account was frozen without any reason. The woman contacted the company's customer service and was promised that the account security team would contact her. They did and asked her to send them her photo ID. She did and after three days requested to process the payment to her friend or to refund the money. The woman has contacted the customer service twice a day but did not see any action from the security team. Here are some more real users' reviews.
"Venmo is a ridiculous service. My account was frozen without any explanation. I found out that they freeze accounts because it has been suspended due to the recent activity. They consider it to be a violation of our User Agreement. Then they write to the user that if they want to reactivate the account, they need to send them an email with a picture of their unexpired US government issued photo identification. I did everything they asked me to but I still have my card frozen."
"Venmo is designed, probably, for use with other Venmo users only. It deals with a limited number of financial institutions, which means that the company simply doesn't allow you to link to them. It is funny but even though Venmo is owned by PayPal, Venmo cash cannot be transferred to your PayPal account. I closed my account almost immediately after opening it. I wasted four hours on trying to navigate ways to get my money transferred but in vain. I do not recommend this service to anyone."
"Venmo service is just terrible. They held my money captive without any reasons or explanation. My instant transfer was denied. When I talked to a customer service rep I was said that my account has been red flagged but they refused to tell me the reason. I think it does not exist. I had to refund the money or wait for a regular bank transfer for three business days. Stay away from this product. It is completely ridiculous."
My Final Summary
Venmo is a service that is easy to install but in many cases, you may need to wait for a while until you will be able to use it. It is definitely not cheap to use. The service is generally associated with negative reviews with the main complaint of accounts being frozen without any reason. Usually, this occurs when the account is actively used for transfer. When people try to solve the problem with the customer service, its reps appear to be completely unhelpful. There have been instances of device theft. Venmo has seen numerous complaints related to fund holds. With all these drawbacks, I would definitely not recommend Venmo.
Where To Buy Venmo In Stores?
Debit or bank transfer is free. There is no early termination fee or PCI Compliance fee. Venmo's business pricing varies based on the merchant's business type. There is no monthly or annual fee but its enterprise pricing could include additional fees. Some users report issues with the company's hold policies without sufficient explanation.