To pay Venmo goods and services, open the Venmo app and tap "Pay/Request." Search for the recipient, enter the amount, add a note, then tap the goods and services toggle to activate purchase protection before confirming the details and tapping "Pay."
How to pay Venmo goods and services
Follow these exact steps to send a payment with the goods and services toggle enabled, ensuring your transaction is covered by Venmo's Purchase Protection Program:
- Open the Venmo app on your smartphone or tablet.
- Tap the "Pay/Request" button at the bottom of the screen.
- Search for the recipient by their username, phone number, or email address. If you know their Venmo handle, you can type it directly into the search field to find them instantly.
- Enter the payment amount in the designated field.
- Add a note describing what the payment is for (e.g., "payment for vintage lamp").
- Locate the goods and services toggle switch beneath the note field and tap it to enable it. The toggle will turn green or blue to indicate it is active.
- Review the payment details, including the recipient, amount, note, and the active goods and services toggle.
- Tap the "Pay" button to complete the transaction.
Once you tap Pay, the funds will be transferred from your Venmo balance, linked bank account, or debit card. The recipient will receive the payment minus the applicable seller fee, and your purchase will be eligible for Venmo's Purchase Protection Program.
What is Venmo Purchase Protection?
When you toggle the goods and services option, you activate Venmo's Purchase Protection Program. This program covers buyers if an item is not received or if the item received is significantly different from the description provided by the seller. The protection applies to eligible transactions made with the toggle enabled, giving you recourse to file a dispute and potentially receive a refund if the transaction goes wrong. Venmo's Purchase Protection also offers some coverage for sellers against unauthorized transactions or claims of non-receipt, provided they can show proof of shipment or fulfillment.
It is a common misconception that Venmo is only for friends and family; it has expanded to include protected goods and services payments. Payments sent without the goods and services toggle (often referred to as "Friends & Family" payments) are not covered by Venmo's Purchase Protection. Venmo explicitly states that it does not offer a buyer or seller protection program for transactions conducted using the Venmo app or Venmo.com unless expressly offered through the goods and services toggle or authorized merchant payments.
What purchases are not covered?
Venmo's Purchase Protection does not cover all transactions. Ineligible items include:
- Vehicles
- Real estate
- Financial products
- Cryptocurrency
- Gambling transactions
- Digital goods
- Services
- Custom orders
- In-person pickups (with exceptions for QR code transactions at select merchants)
If you purchase any of these items using the goods and services toggle, your transaction will not be eligible for Purchase Protection. Always verify that your purchase falls within the covered categories before relying on the protection.
Fees for goods and services payments
When you send a payment with the goods and services toggle enabled, you as the sender pay no additional fee if you fund the payment using your Venmo balance, a linked bank account, or a debit card. Sending money using a linked credit card for personal payments that are not tagged as goods and services incurs a 3% fee for the sender, but this does not apply when the goods and services toggle is active. Because these protected transactions may need to be reported, knowing when does Venmo send 1099 forms can help you plan for tax season.
The seller, however, is charged a transaction fee of 1.9% plus $0.10 of the total payment amount. This fee is deducted from the amount the seller receives, so the buyer pays the full amount entered, and the seller nets the remainder after the fee.
Other ways to pay for goods and services
Beyond using the goods and services toggle for peer-to-peer payments, you can pay for goods and services on Venmo through several other methods:
Pay an authorized Venmo business profile
Many businesses have verified Venmo business profiles. When you pay these profiles directly, the transaction is automatically treated as a goods and services payment and is covered by Venmo's Purchase Protection. To do this, search for the business in the Venmo app and send payment to their profile.
Use the Venmo Debit Card
If you have a Venmo Debit Card, you can use it at any merchant that accepts Mastercard. Payments made with the Venmo Debit Card are processed as standard debit card transactions and may offer additional protections through Mastercard's network, though they are separate from Venmo's Purchase Protection Program.
Scan in-store QR codes at select merchants
At participating physical stores, you can pay by scanning a QR code displayed at the checkout. Open the Venmo app, tap the scan icon, point your camera at the merchant's QR code, and follow the prompts to complete the payment. These transactions are eligible for Purchase Protection as long as they meet the program's criteria.
To use any of these methods, you first need to set up Venmo by downloading the app, creating an account, and linking a funding source such as a bank account or debit card. Once your account is active, you can choose the payment method that best fits your shopping situation.
