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Best Venmo Alternatives to Send Money Abroad in 2024

Venmo is a mobile app that allows users to pay and request money from friends and family. The user-friendly design functions much like a social media platform and the intuitive interface is easy to use. Based in the US, this money transfer service is used for day-to-day remittances by millions of customers; but is it the best option for international money transfers and payments? In this guide we will provide an overview of how and why Venmo is used, as well as workable alternatives.

Frank Day
Author 
Frank Day
1 minutes
November 20th, 2023
Disclosure

Venmo, a PayPal-owned app, is popular in the US for transferring money, with 80 million users in 2023. Venmo cannot be used to send payments internationally or to recipients who do not have a Venmo account.

If you’re looking to transfer money overseas, apps like Venmo's sister, Xoom, are designed to suit your needs. Take a look at some of the alternatives to Venmo and how they compare.

Can I use Venmo to make an international transfer?

Venmo doesn’t support international transfers because the service is only available in the US. To send money overseas, you’ll need to use an alternative, such as a specialist money transfer provider, a bank, or a different P2P payment app.

Top 3 alternatives to Venmo in 2024

Here are the top 3 alternative providers for sending international payments.

Xoom
Xoom

Unlike Venmo, Xoom services 131 countries around the world, including the US, Canada, the UK, and most countries in the European Economic Area. As it’s also owned by PayPal, Xoom uses a similar user interface to Venmo, so it should be easily recognizable for seasoned users of its sister app.

  • Familiar layout for Venmo users

  • Fast transfers

  • Wide country coverage

  • Good customer service

Wise
Wise

Well established among remittance providers, Wise has been providing cheap, fair, and simple money transfers since 2011. With over 16 million users worldwide, Wise is a great alternative to Venmo if you need to send international transfers.

Rather than just a payment app, Wise is a complete bank account, allowing you to make payments, hold multiple currencies in the same place, and manage your finances in one place. They also have a mobile app available on iPhone and Android, so you can manage your finances easily from your phone.

  • Fees and exchange rate are calculated and shown before transferring

  • Offers faster transfers than many competitors

  • Over 50 currencies available, and hold up to nine in your account at a time

  • High maximum transfer limits

WorldRemit
WorldRemit

WorldRemit offers lots of different ways to send money internationally, including cash pickup, mobile airtime, and mobile money. Their app is available on Google Play and the App Store, so you can arrange transfers via your mobile as you would using Venmo.

Like Wise, WorldRemit has a calculator that allows you to see the exchange rate and fees for your transfer before you make it.

  • Large variety of payment methods available, including bank transfer, cash pickup, and mobile airtime

  • Transparent fees and exchange rate visible before transferring

  • Over 70 currencies available for transfers

  • Over 130 countries serviced

Transferring money out of Venmo

If you need to move your money into a different app, you'll need to transfer your Venmo balance into a bank account first. Payments cannot be made directly from Venmo to another payment app. Transferring money to your bank account is simple:

Begin the transfer
Choose the transfer speed
Check and confirm

Venmo - you’ll need alternatives to transfer internationally

Venmo is great for transferring money within the US, but the moment you need to send money to another country, it’s no longer useful. Other apps and transfer providers let you send money internationally, get the best exchange rates, and even store multiple currencies in one place.

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Contributors

Frank Day
Author
Frank Day
Based in London, Frank is a dedicated writer and editor specializing in personal finance, boasting over five years of experience in the field. Frank's professional journey began in the pensions industry, where he developed a keen expertise in this area. He has crafted content for notable organizations like the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, the Environment Agency, and Direct Line.