PayPal to Venmo: How to Transfer Money ( ...

PayPal to Venmo: How to Transfer Money (Guide For 2024)

Jun 14, 2024
  • To transfer money from Paypal to Venmo, you can use a third-party bank account, link your Paypal debit card to your Venmo account, or ask the recipient to open a Paypal account.

  • Paypal and Venmo are owned by the same company but do not have a direct transfer option between the two platforms.

  • Venmo offers additional ways to add money, including direct deposit, check deposits, and transfers from linked bank accounts.

Venmo will allow you to add debit cards or link bank accounts to fund your Venmo account. This includes the free debit card issued by Paypal. Paypal partnered with Mastercard to give their customers access to use their debit cards just about anywhere.

Venmo is actually owned by Paypal, and has been since 2013, so it may come as a surprise to a lot of users that you can’t send money between the two apps.

It makes sense that you can send money directly from Venmo to Cash App, as they’re two separate companies, but why not Venmo and Paypal?

Well, they’re two separate apps for now, and if you want to transfer money between the two of them, you’ll have to follow a couple of steps. 

It’s really easy to transfer money from your own Paypal account to your Venmo account. You can link a third party bank account to both and just use it to facilitate the transaction.

If you’re sending money from your Paypal account to someone else’s Venmo account, it’s a little more complicated. You can’t just give your bank account information to someone else so that they can link your accounts; that’s dangerous.

You wouldn’t want someone else to use your Paypal card to link to their Venmo account either. If they did, they would be able to pull from your Paypal balance whenever they want. 

If you do want to send someone money from your Paypal account, it may seem like a lot of work, but the easiest method may be to ask them to open a Paypal account. 

When they open their own PayPal account, they can then link it to their bank account and make the transfer on their own. Paypal is free and it’s quick to open an account so you wouldn’t be asking too much of them if you were to try and use this method.

How to Send Money from Paypal to Venmo By Linking a Third-Party Bank Account

  1. Link your bank account to Paypal using the Wallet section in the app.

  2. Use Plaid to find and connect your bank to Paypal automatically or manually enter your account and routing numbers.

  3. Link the same bank account to Venmo by going to the Me tab and clicking on “Add a bank or card.”

  4. Follow the same process as with Paypal, using Plaid or manually entering account details.

  5. Once both accounts are connected to the same bank, you can transfer money between Paypal and Venmo using the bank account as a middleman.

Even though Venmo is owned by Paypal, there is no direct way to send money from one app to another. If you’re trying to transfer money from your own Paypal account to your Venmo account, you can use a third-party bank account to facilitate the whole thing.

It’s not the easiest or quickest method, but it is reliable and safe.

Once you link the accounts, you can always use them for transfers too. It’s free, but you’ll need a bank account with a real bank to do it.

To transfer your money using this method, first, start by linking your bank account to Paypal.

Paypal and Venmo, both partner with Plaid, to link accounts to the respective platforms, so the process will be similar for both apps. 

Open the Paypal app and your phone and head to the Wallet portion of the app.

Click the Add banks and cards button towards the top of the screen. Paypal will then ask you if you’re looking to add a new bank, debit card, credit card, or Amex send account to the app. Click bank.

If you have a password, Paypal will ask you to enter it here. After you’re through the password portion of the process, find your bank.

Plaid, the service Venmo and Paypal (among a litany of other fintech companies) use to link bank accounts, will then appear and ask you to find your bank from a list.

The list has the most popular banks displayed up front, and if you can’t find yours you can search for it in the search bar. You can then log into your bank’s online platform and let Plaid do the work for you.

Plaid can link your bank account to Paypal automatically if you permit it. If not, you should be able to link your account manually, entering your account and routing numbers straight into Paypal. 

Once you’ve linked your checking account to PayPal, you’ve completed half of the process. You’ll need to do the same in Venmo and don’t worry, the process is just about the same. In Venmo, you’ll want to head to the Me tab, again the last of the five tabs at the bottom of the screen.

Click on a button that says Add a bank or card, made visible by a giant plus sign, and repeat the process from Paypal. After you’ve connected both your Paypal account and Venmo account to your bank account, you can transfer money between the two fintech apps. It may take a couple of business days if you choose to transfer the money for free, or instantly if you pay a fee. 

How to Send Money from Paypal to Venmo by Linking the Paypal Debit Card

  1. Apply for a free Paypal debit card through Paypal and wait for its arrival.

  2. Open the Venmo app and go to the Me tab.

  3. Click “Add banks or card” and choose “Card.”

  4. Enter the Paypal card number, expiration date, security code, and associated ZIP code.

  5. After linking the card, transfer money from Paypal to Venmo using the Venmo app.

Like most fintech companies and online banks, both Paypal and Venmo offer their customers free debit cards. They’ve both partnered with Mastercard as well, letting their customers use their balances wherever Mastercard is accepted. 

If you want to send money from Paypal to Venmo, using the Paypal debit card in the Venmo app might be the method for you. The Paypal debit card is completely free and Venmo should accept it, allowing you to pull funds from Paypal in the Venmo app. To link the card, you’ll first have to apply for it through PayPal. Once they approve you and you receive your card in the mail, head to the Venmo app.

In the Me tab is a button called Add banks or card, click on that to move forward. Click card and then enter your full card number, expiration date, and security code into Venmo.  You’ll also need to enter the ZIP code associated with your Paypal card and you can choose whether or not you want to use this card as your backup payment. 

Once the card is added, you should be able to transfer money from Paypal to Venmo in a matter of moments. You can do it all from the Venmo app, and you won’t have to relink your card ever again. 

How to Send Money from Paypal to Venmo by Asking Your Recipient to Open a Paypal Account

This may seem convoluted, but it could be the easiest way to move money from Paypal to Venmo if you’re not sending money between your accounts.  If you’re sending money from your personal PayPal account to someone else’s Venmo account, it may be smart for your recipient to open a Paypal account of their own, link it to their bank account, and make the transfer.

Like I said earlier, it’s not a great idea to link your bank account to someone else’s PayPal account for a one-time transfer. They’ll have access to your account and your information until they decide to unlink the account, or you do on your bank’s online platform. 

Creating a Paypal account is quick, easy, secure, and best of all, free.

If your recipient makes a PayPal account, you can send them money directly through the app. The funds will arrive right away, for free, and they can transfer them to their bank account right away.  Once the funds have made it to their bank account, they can transfer it to their Venmo account and complete the process.  It’s a lot of steps, more than any other in this article, but asking someone to create a PayPal account may be the best way to send money from Paypal to Venmo.

How Do I Add Money to Venmo?

  1. You can add money to your Venmo account through bank transfers, direct deposits, and check deposits.

  2. Direct deposit can be set up in the app, allowing funds to be added automatically.

  3. Check deposits can be done by taking pictures of the front and back of the check, with a $5 minimum, $5,000 maximum, and $15,000 monthly limit.

  4. Transferring money from a linked bank account is a convenient and free method, with a transfer speed of 1-3 business days or instant for a fee.

Besides PayPal, there’s other great ways to add money to your Venmo account. You can transfer from your bank, reroute your direct deposit, and even take pictures of your checks to deposit them straight into the app.

If you sign up for the Venmo debit card, you’ll get access to a ton of different features aimed at making your Venmo experience feel more .

You can move over your direct deposit, adding funds to your Venmo account without lifting a finger.  To set up direct deposit with Venmo, head to the settings portion of the app and click on Direct Deposit.

Venmo will give you a pre-filled form to give to your employer, or you can just give them your account number and routing number.  If you received a government, payroll, or personal check, you can deposit it right into the fintech app. Take a picture of the front and back and the check will be on its way to your account. There are limits you should be mindful of; there’s a $5 minimum and $5,000 maximum for check deposits through Venmo, with a $15,000 monthly limit as well. 

Lastly, the easiest way to fund your Venmo account in my opinion, is to transfer money from your linked bank account. When you link a bank account to Venmo, you create a permanent transfer avenue that you can use for free. You can send funds either way — from Venmo to your bank or vice versa. The transfer speed is relatively quick at 1-3 business days, or you can pay a fee and send the funds instantly.  

How Do I Get Money Out of Paypal?

It’s not always as easy to get money out of online banks. If you’re banking with a traditional bank, they probably have branches and physical locations all around you you can go to withdraw funds. Fintech companies like Paypal don’t offer physical locations. Instead, you can transfer your balance from Paypal to your bank and make a withdrawal from there.

Transfers take 1-3 business days to reach your bank account if you elect to transfer your money for free, or you can pay a fee and go the instant route. 

If you select to transfer your money instantly, you’ll see it in a matter of minutes. The fee is 1.75% of the total amount transferred.  The other way of getting money out of your Paypal account is to use the Paypal debit card to make a withdrawal. You can withdraw up to $400.00 in cash per day from ATMs from your Paypal account.

There may be ATM fees to be mindful of, but using your Paypal debit card to grab cash is the easiest and fastest way of doing so. 

Are Venmo and Paypal the Same Company?

Venmo and Paypal are two competing fintech companies that offer a lot of the same features. They both let you make instant transfers to other users, accept direct deposits, and even get a free debit card. Many would be surprised to learn that they’re owned by the same company!

Venmo is owned by Paypal, and they display that in their app on the settings page of their app. The top of the page reads “Venmo is a service of Paypal, Inc.” followed by their NMLS ID number.

Oddly, Venmo is owned by Paypal (and has been since 2013), as the two apps can’t be currently used together. If you want to transfer money from Paypal to Venmo, or the other way around, you’ll have to either link a third-party bank account or use one of their debit cards. 

The two platforms are different in their goals as well. Venmo seeks to be a social experience, giving each user a feed displaying what each of their friends and contacts have sent money and received money for — much like your standard social media app. Paypal doesn’t offer the social aspect but instead offers a large business section, cryptocurrencies, and deals you can shop for online.  Paypal has also partnered with Honey to give you all the best deals on the web without looking for coupon codes yourself. 

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