A Guide to Venmo Business Fees: Is Venmo Free for Businesses?

Does Venmo charge a fee for businesses? The short answer is yes. Although Venmo has been around for well over a decade, it only started gaining mass traction around 2015. By 2020, it was well-established as one of the most popular free peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps in the United States. As such, it only made sense to extend the popular service to businesses. However, with newly applicable business fees, many business owners and entrepreneurs are unsure whether Venmo is a viable option for their business.

While you may love the convenience of your personal account, don’t make the mistake of assuming a business account is the same. The two offerings are very different. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what you can expect when using Venmo for business. Whether you’re a small business owner or a seasoned entrepreneur, this guide will help you make an informed decision about the best payment solution for your business.

Venmo Business Account Fees and What They Mean for You

As a business owner, it’s important to keep track of your expenses—and that includes transaction fees. These charges add up quietly, often amounting to thousands of dollars in squandered profits. Before choosing a payment solution, it’s important to review all transaction and service fees to weigh their potential impact on your bottom line.

Below, let’s look at what fees you can expect when using Venmo for Business.

Venmo business accounts incur a 1.9% transaction fee on any payment received. Additionally, Venmo for Business charges a $0.10 fixed fee for each transaction. That’s a total of 1.9% + $0.10 on each payment.^[1]Venmo. “Business Profile Transaction Fees“. Accessed June 7, 2023.

These non-refundable fees add up quickly—especially if your business relies on many small payments.

With a Venmo business account, credit card fees are charged based on a percentage of the total transaction amount. Every credit card transaction incurs a 3% fee.

While the convenience of using Venmo for payment processing may outweigh the cost for some, credit card fees add up—especially if you’re making a lot of payments to vendors, suppliers, or employees.

Visa Fees: Cash Advances, Late Payments, and Returned Payments

Business owners with a Venmo Visa card can pay up to $40 penalty fees for late payments. Returned payments can incur a fee of up to $29. Business owners can take cash advances with a Venmo Visa card; however, you’ll pay a fee of either $10.00 or 5%—whichever is higher.

Mastercard Fees: ATM and Over-the-Counter Cash Withdrawals

You can easily withdraw funds at an ATM or over the counter with a Venmo Mastercard. ATM withdrawal fees are a set rate of $2.50 per transaction, while over-the-counter cash withdrawals incur a fee of $3.00 for every withdrawal.

If you’re planning on using Venmo for cryptocurrency transactions, you’ll want to check any fees before processing payments. Fees start at a minimum of $0.50 for a transaction in the range of $1 to $24.99 and can get up to a maximum of 2.3% of the amount. To ensure you’re getting the best deal, compare fees with other cryptocurrency platforms.

The Cash a Check feature allows you to cash printed, payroll, and government checks in a quick and secure way without visiting a physical location. Users take a picture of the check and send it for review via the mobile app. Check review and approval take a few seconds up to five minutes. Though, in rare cases, it can take up to an hour for verification.

This feature saves a significant amount of time and gives you quick and convenient access to funds. It does, however, come at a cost. Government and payroll checks come with a cashing fee of 1%; other accepted check types hold a higher fee of 5%. Keep in mind that regardless of the amount or check type, the minimum fee is $5. It therefore may not be a cost-effective option for small check amounts.

Electronic withdrawals are fast and convenient—but as with most things, this convenience comes at a price. If you want to make an electronic withdrawal from your Venmo business account, expect to pay a 1.5% fee of the amount total, with a $0.25 minimum. However, there is a $15 fee cap for large withdrawals.

Venmo business accounts charge for the following services:

Sending money via credit card	3%
Adding money with the ‘cash a check feature’ (faster check deposits, payroll, and government checks)	1% (minimum $5)
Adding money with the ‘cash a check feature’ (faster check deposits, all other accepted check types)	5% (minimum $5)
Receiving payments in your business profile for goods and services	1.9% + $0.10
Electronic withdrawal	1.5% (min $0.25 fee, max $15 fee)
Buying and selling cryptocurrencies	$0.50 minimum and 2.3% – 1.5% maximum fee
Venmo Mastercard ATM withdrawal	$2.50
Venmo Mastercard over-the-counter cash withdrawal	$3.00
Venmo Visa cash advances	$10.00 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance
Venmo Visa late payment	Up to $40.00
Venmo Visa returned payment	Up to $29.00

Understanding Venmo Business Profile Limits

Venmo business accounts come with limits on spending amounts, as well as how much money you can transfer to your linked bank account. The limits are dependent on whether your business profile is verified or not.

While verifying your business identity offers significant benefits in terms of purchase and transfer limits, it can be a challenge for unregistered businesses. Venmo uses a national database to verify and confirm your business entity; however, they may request additional documents if they can’t verify your information purely off the database records.^[2]Venmo. “Business Profile Identity Verification Documents“. Accessed June 7, 2023.

What Fees Do Venmo Business Account Alternatives Charge?

When assessing alternative payment solutions, one of the most important aspects to consider is how competitors’ pricing compares to Venmo for Business’s fees. Below, we review some top contenders to consider.

PayPal

PayPal provides a contract-free payment solution for both merchants and consumers.

Consumers can use PayPal to settle invoices, transfer money, and pay for purchases. Meanwhile, merchants can use a card reader or enable PayPal as a payment option on their website, as well as take advantage of payment portals, business management services, credit options, and financing support.

PayPal business account payment processing fees run from 2.29% to 3.49% depending on the payment type. There is an additional $0.09 for in-person credit and debit card transactions.

However, PayPal’s higher fees come with a vast range of business features that Venmo lacks. PayPal does not have any daily transfer limits, allows up to eight users on business accounts, and enables you to do business internationally in different currencies. Comparatively, Venmo allows one user per business account and is only available in the United States.

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Square Pay

Square Pay for Business offers a third-party processing service through which you can accept credit card payments without a merchant account. Although Square allows you to manage a variety of online sales, it is best suited to in-person transactions.

Businesses can accept payments online and in person by integrating with Square’s point-of-sale (POS) system. Square Online has both free and paid plans. Square’s transaction fees are fairly high at 2.6% to 3.5% depending on the transaction type. Online transactions incur an additional cost of $0.30.

Square’s POS and online systems integrate for real-time inventory management and tracking in a single, comprehensive dashboard. Customers can pay, tip, and sign on your device, and also receive text or email receipts. Additionally, Square Pay comes with far more features than Venmo, including:

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Zelle

Since Zelle is primarily a bank-to-bank payment service, the features available to you will depend largely on which financial institution you bank with. As a P2P payment service, Zelle offers quick money transfers and split payment options for US account holders. However, not all banks within the network offer Zelle for Businesses.

Zelle for Business only allows payments from immediately available funds, neither processing credit card payments nor offering transaction reversals for refunds. As a result of Zelle only processing actual available funds, there is less risk of payment fraud. Additionally, you can send and receive money within minutes, as well as receive contactless payments from customers.

Most major banks don’t cap receiving amounts, although they may limit sending amounts. Zelle fees vary from bank to bank, which makes it difficult to make a universal comparison. However, transaction fees are generally lower than other payment platforms.

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Paysley

Although Paysley does not offer a free account option, its tiered pricing structure still works out to be a cost-effective payment solution. Paysley is browser-based, offering contactless payments with POSlink, QR code scan-and-pay, and direct payments via unique URL links. With a simple merchant URL, you can generate payment requests and invoices from any web browser. After which, your client receives a link to a secure browser-based payment page and automated receipt once they finalize the payment. That’s a lot less administrative work for you.

Pricing structures range from $15 to $99 monthly, with a standard rate of $0.20 per transaction. You can integrate Paysley with most CRM and ERP platforms to perform batch processing.

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Cash App

Cash App’s Cash for Business lets small business owners accept payments with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover networks, as well as generate customized payment links and QR payment codes.

There is no fee to create an account and you don’t need any special hardware to process payments. Cash App deducts a 2.75% processing fee from each payment you receive to your account. While Cash App fees are higher than Venmo business fees, the platform offers a variety of payment options for customers and does not charge Cash for Business accounts instant deposit fees. That means you can instantly transfer funds to your debit card for free. If preferred, you can also keep funds in your Cash App balance to make business purchases with your Cash Card.

It’s also worth noting that Cash App provides tax documentation for business accounts with gross sales over $600 in a tax year.

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Stripe Pay

Stripe Pay’s most suitable for online sales, and supports more than 135 currencies and over two dozen payment methods. Accepted payment methods include wire transfers, most major credit and debit cards, and a range of digital wallets. Stripe also facilitates buy now, pay later (BNPL) options, as well as in-person payments with the Stripe Terminal.

Stripe charges a transaction fee between 2.7–3.4% on transaction amounts, in addition to a flat-rate transaction fee: $0.05 for card-present payments and $0.30 for card-not-present (CNP) payments. If applicable, there is an additional 1% charge for international cards and currency conversion.

Stripe pricing and fees might seem steep—but keep in mind that there are no setup, cancellation, or monthly fees for a service that supports a wide range of payment methods and international currencies.

Venmo Business Fees May Seem Convenient—But Is the Service Right for You?

As a business owner, you need to find the perfect balance between cost-effective, convenient payments and access to features that will support your growing business. While Venmo may be convenient, as well as cost-effective to some business owners, it lacks the features businesses need to scale their operations. As a payment solution, Venmo may be convenient today, yet hamper your future operations.

At PaymentCloud, we’ve looked at how we can offer sellers the best features to support growth, all while keeping shopping convenient for consumers. As a result, we offer a no-fee payment processing solution with month-to-month terms, quick approvals, and around-the-clock support. Our clients have a dedicated account manager for the lifetime of their accounts; this hands-on support enables merchants to get the lowest possible processing rates without sacrificing the features they need to scale.

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