Venmo links with PayPal for global money transfers

Venmo has launched a new connection that lets its users send money to PayPal users worldwide, extending access to PayPal users across 90 markets.

The update allows Venmo users to send and receive money with hundreds of millions of PayPal users, marking what PayPal described as the largest expansion of Venmo's addressable market since the app launched.

To make a payment, users search for a recipient's full phone number in the Venmo app. If the number is linked to a searchable PayPal account, the app displays the recipient, lets the sender enter an amount in US dollars, and shows how much the recipient will receive in their preferred currency before the transfer is completed.

The service is aimed at both domestic and international person-to-person payments. Before sending money, users will see currency conversion rates and any applicable fees. Recipients will be able to view the sender, the amount received, the currency and any payment note.

Network reach

The integration connects a largely US-focused peer-to-peer payments app with PayPal's broader international network. Venmo has long been used mainly to split bills and make small payments among friends and family in the United States, while PayPal has had an established cross-border payments presence for years.

PayPal is also waiving Venmo's international fee for a limited period as it rolls out the service. The process is designed to work through the same app interface Venmo customers already use for everyday transfers.

The announcement reflects a broader effort by digital payments companies to reduce friction between closed user networks. Peer-to-peer transfers often depend on both parties using the same app, creating problems when people travel, live abroad or need to send money to relatives in other countries.

PayPal cited survey data commissioned by Venmo from 2,000 adults in the United States that highlights those frictions. According to the findings, 49% of payment app users said they had downloaded or switched apps just to pay someone back, while 30% said they had forgotten to repay someone because they did not have the right app.

Among younger users, the problem appeared more pronounced. The survey found that 52% of Gen Z respondents had forgotten to pay someone back because of app differences, and 42% said they send money or gifts to friends and family in another country at least once a month.

Consumer trends

The research also suggests that cross-border and intergenerational payments are becoming more common uses for consumer payment apps. Overall, 41% of Americans surveyed said they send money or gifts to friends and family who live in another country, and 82% of those who send money across generations said using the same payment platform would make that support easier and faster.

Among people who have travelled or lived abroad in the past three years, 77% said it is important to use the same payment app they rely on at home. Among millennials, that figure rose to 88%, according to the survey.

Those figures help explain why payment companies are trying to make their networks more interoperable while keeping users within their own branded apps. The challenge is especially relevant in markets where consumers use several payment tools, each tied to different contacts or geographies.

Venmo said 59% of payment app users would stop using other apps if one service allowed them to send money globally to friends and family without switching platforms. One in five Americans surveyed said they had delayed or avoided sending money to a family member because of differences in preferred apps or platforms.

Diego Scotti, General Manager of PayPal's Consumer Group, said the tie-up is intended to bridge that divide.

"Venmo and PayPal have each become a trusted part of how people send and receive money - Venmo as the way friends split, share, and connect over everyday spending, and PayPal pioneering the global standard for cross-border money movement," Scotti said.

"By bringing these two ecosystems together, we're making it seamless for Venmo and PayPal users to pay one another without friction or borders. It's about meeting people where they are and delivering simple, secure ways to move money in the moments that matter most, no matter what your preferred app is," he added