Venmo vs Cash App

Venmo is free to set up and there are no monthly fees. Beyond these factors, the following fee structures apply:

• Transfers paid for by credit cards incur 3% flat fee

• Seller transaction fees amount to 1.9% when funds are received to a Venmo business account

• Depositing payroll or government-issued checks will incur 1% fee (non-payroll and non-government checks incur 5% fee)

• As of August 2nd 2021, customers will be charged 1.5% for transferring money from their Venmo account to their debit card or bank account

• Instant Venmo transfers incur 1% flat fee, minimum payment of $0.25

• Zero fees for transfers funded by Venmo balance

• Zero fees for transfers funded by bank transfers, debit cards or prepaid card

• Merchant purchases are also fee-free, even when paid for by credit card

Additional fees apply to the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies, see here for more info

Cash App refers to themselves as a fee-free service, but other fees may still apply. Doing your research and understanding free money transfers is invaluable when managing expectations of overseas remittances. These include:

• A fee of 3% of the transfer is charged to customers funding the transfer with a credit card

• Customers who request an Instant Transfer, withdrawing money from their balance, will incur a 1.5% charge for this instant service

Venmo can only be used to send or receive US Dollars. Exchange rates are not applicable.

Cash App is now available in the UK as well as the US. To accommodate customers who may request money from friends overseas in either country, Cash App will convert payments from USD to GBP (or vice versa) based on the mid-market exchange rate at the time.

It is not possible to send or receive international money transfers with Venmo. The app serves as a domestic P2P digital wallet that is only available to US customers.

The United States and United Kingdom are the only destinations supported by Cash App: USD – GBP / GBP – USD transfers only. If you plan to make an international payment outside of the UK and US then you can go to cash app alternatives.

Transfers between Venmo users’ accounts are instant. Bank transfers sent or received with Venmo take 1 to 3 business days.

Much like Venmmo, transfers sent from one Cash App account to another are instant. Transfers sent or received to a bank account will take between 1 – 3 business days.

The following transfer options are available with Venmo::

• Standard bank transfer: send money to an eligible bank account, for free, takes 1 – 3 business days

• Instant transfer: send money to eligible bank accounts or Visa/Mastercard debit cards, within 30 minutes, subject to a 1.5% fee

• Direct Deposit: a feature that allows eligible users to deposit some or all of their paycheck to their Venmo account electronically, this can take 1 – 2 business days

The following payment options are available with Venmo:

• Credit or debit card

• Bank account

• Venmo balance

The following transfer options are available with Cash App:

• Standard deposits: send money to an eligible bank account, for free, takes 1 – 3 business days

• Instant deposits: send money to a bank account or debit card instantly, subject to a 1.5% fee (minimum fee of $0.25)

The following payment options are available with Cash App:

• Credit or debit card

• Bank account

• Google Pay

• Apple Pay

• Cash App balance

At the time of writing (Aug 2021) Venmo was the #2 Finance mobile application in the App Store, with an amazing rating of 4.9 out of 5. Out of the 12.2 million reviews, the vast majority of users had awarded Venmo 5 stars, praising Venmo for its user-friendly design, convenient services and instant payments.

Over on the Google Play Store, Venmo has been given 4.3 out of 5. Although there are positive comments about how user-friendly the app is, it seems Venmo is generally less popular with Android users. Common negative feedback referencing processing issues, duplicate transactions and unreliable accessibility.

Cash App has been rated #1 by users, topping the App Store’s list of Finance applications and stealing the first place spot from Venmo. Despite this, Cash App reviews add up to 4.7 out of 5 stars, from 2 million online ratings. Feedback includes praise for quick payments, straightforward user interface and great features, but comments about poor customer service appears to be holding Cash App back from 5 star status.

Similar criticism can be found over on the Google Play Store, where Cash App has been awarded a good rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars. It seems customer support needs to be improved in order to attract more positive user feedback.

• Accessibility: when receiving money via Venmo, the funds are not automatically deposited into your bank account. Instead, the money remains in the Venmo account unless you make a bank transfer.

• Ease of use: The Venmo app employs fun, user-friendly navigation and has been rated highly by users. It is easy to find contacts by searching their username or contact details, scanning their unique QR code or syncing your contacts. Venmo’s social media style feed allows users to see who others are sending and receiving payments to and from.

• Security: Advanced data encryption is employed by Venmo, and personal data is stored in separate, secure servers to ensure the protection of all financial information. There is also the option to enhance security of the app by adding a PIN code and enabling two-factor authentication.

• Transparency: Venmo, and its parent company PayPal, has come under fire for unexplained account closures and freezes. This has resulted in digital rights organisations demanding more transparency and clearer user guidelines

• Accessibility: the company does not require customers to connect a bank account in order to register with Cash App, which means it is easy to send and receive money using your balance, although it costs $2 to withdraw funds from ATMs using the Cash Card

• Ease of use: Cash App’s simple display and straightforward user interface makes it an easy app to use for peer-to-peer transactions: whether you are splitting bills or divvying up your monthly share of the rent

• Security: Cash App is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) in the US which makes their banking features limited as funds are not covered by the same regulations as other competitors. When it comes to protecting and insuring personal data, however, Cash App uses state of the art encryption and fraud detection technology to ensure customer details are secure. Two-factor authentication is also used across the app

• Transparency: Cash App is very clear about its core functions: sending money, receiving money, investing and acting as a digital wallet.

• Customers can buy sell and hold four types of cryptocurrency: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash

• Offers social media functions including emojis and online status updates

• Venmo makes it easy to split bills

• Debit card users are offered cash back incentives and there is a points-based reward system for credit card users

• Supports international transfers between US and UK users

• Cash App customers are able to buy, sell, send and receive stocks and Bitcoin; available to US customers only

• Supports Google Pay and Apple Pay

• Discounts at popular coffee shops, restaurants and other merchants are part of the app’s Boosts scheme

• Customers can make direct deposits of paychecks and tax refund checks