Here are the Latest Venmo Updates You Know

Author: Geoffrey Brown

Every day, thousands of Americans rely on Venmo for their essential Peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. This means that any change to Venmo’s system can affect many people’s lives without them even knowing.

That is why we created this guide to educate you about the latest updates on the Venmo platform. 

Here are a few you should take note of

Venmo Increases Instant Transfer Fees

In April 2022, Venmo’s owner (PayPal) announced an increase in instant transfer fees for consumers and merchants living in America.

Instant transfer lets customers make and receive payments instantly. The instant service also extends to bank accounts or debit card transfers via Venmo.

But now, Venmo’s consumers and business accounts will see an increase of 1.5% to 1.75% for instant transfer charges. The minimum fee remains the same at $0.25, while the maximum fee has increased from $15 to $25.

PayPal claims to be making this change so that its business can be in line with the value it provides. Venmo users should expect the change to be effective by May 23, 2022.

Venmo’s Gift Wrapping Feature

Venmo is improving the gift-sharing experience with friends and family by adding a new gift-wrapping feature. This feature gives users eight animated gift-wrap designs to package their money(gift).

Using the feature is as simple as tapping the gift wrap icon and selecting your preferred gift wrap design.

The recipient will see the special animations when they get the money. Additionally, both the sender and receiver can always go back and watch the animation from the payment details screen.

Tax Reports

As of Jan 1, 2022, Venmo and other P2P payment services must report any commercial transaction of $600/year or above to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).

This change requires Venmo to file and furnish a Form 1099-K for you if your yearly transactions through the platform are worth $600 or more.

This tax-reporting update does not apply to personal charges to your family or friends, only transaction on commercial services and goods.

PayPal, which owns Venmo, allows customers to tag their transactions as Friends and Family or Goods and Services.

Users paying for a service or product should choose Goods and Services. In contrast, use Family and Friends if it’s a non-commercial transaction to a relative or loved one.

Venmo security updates

Venmo finally updated its privacy settings after President Biden’s account was uncovered by BuzzFeed News. They also found other accounts of Biden’s family members and people on his friend’s list.

These events exposed the flaws in Venmo’s security system as scammers, stalkers, police officers, and trolls can exploit sensitive information when they wish. 

To enhance your Venmo account security, go to settings and change who is allowed to see your friends list. You can even select an option that stops your accounts from showing up on other friends’ lists.

Conclusion

Venmo is a popular P2P platform used by over 50 million Americans. The company has now updated its security and introduced some creative animations to wow its users. Instant transfer fee and new regulations by the government was also integrated.