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Venmo is one of the most popular smartphone apps for money transfers.
People can pay each other for services rendered, friends can get even on dinner bills, and customers can purchase retail items at certain stores.
With access to such a lucrative service, people might want to open several Venmo accounts for personal and business purposes.
Yes, you can have two Venmo accounts.
However, you cannot have 2 personal accounts meaning that your second account must be a business account.
You cannot have multiple personal or business accounts.
You can create your business account through the Venmo app, but there are conditions and associated fees.
You do not need to set up a new phone number or email address to create your second Venmo account, though you can only use your phone number for one of the accounts.
You also do not need to link them to separate bank accounts.
You can use the same bank for both Venmo accounts.
However, two uses are the limit.
It is not against Venmo’s policy to own and operate two accounts.
However, your Venmo account can only be associated with one phone number.
Though it can be linked to multiple email addresses, a unique phone number must be linked to each Venmo account.
Be careful if you try to register for an account with the same phone number as your existing account because it may result in the deletion of your first account.
You should be able to check if your phone number is already associated with a Venmo account by clicking “settings,” then “account,” then “profile.”
That screen should show you which mobile number, if any, you used to generate your account.
How Can I Create My 2nd Venmo Account?
Assuming you already have a personal account, your second account is required to be a business profile.
To create a Venmo business profile:
- First, sign in to your Venmo account (if you have one already)
- Then, open your settings tab on the top right of the “Me” screen
- Click “Create Business Profile”
- Click “Create your profile”
You will be prompted to add your SSN or your Business EIN.
Enter your business name and username.
Follow the steps to complete the process.
Can I Have A Joint Venmo Account?
Yes, you can operate a Venmo account in conjunction with another person.
This might be a good option for business partners who send and receive money from their Venmo accounts or for couples who have joint bank accounts.
Just note that each account is associated with one phone number and one email address, so people operating joint accounts will need to choose one person’s contact information to be associated with the account.
Can One Bank Account Be Used For Multiple Venmo Profiles?
This is another good question for couples with merged bank accounts or businesses that use business accounts.
Yes, you can link two Venmo accounts to the same bank account, but Venmo only allows the same bank account to be used twice.
For example, three business employees cannot have three separate Venmo profiles linked to the same bank account.
Similarly, parents and their children cannot all have separate Venmo profiles linked to the same bank account.
Each payment method used on Venmo can only be linked to two accounts at once.
Can I Link Multiple Payment Methods To My Venmo?
Yes, this is one of the best things about Venmo.
You can link multiple bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, and other payment options to your account!
All you must do is add the payment methods in your settings.
The settings option can be found by clicking “Me” and then clicking on the gear icon in the top right corner.
Then, select “Payment methods” and choose “Add a bank or card.”
This should bring you to a screen where you can put in the relevant payment information.
If you want to add a bank account for direct withdrawals, choose “bank,” or choose “card” if you want to add a card.
There is no transaction fee on debit cards.
But, be warned that there is a 3% fee on credit cards.
If you are adding a bank account, you can choose to add it instantly or manually.
If you choose instant, you can sign into your bank account through the Venmo app.
Otherwise, you will have to manually input your routing number and account number.
Don’t be alarmed if you see a $1 charge in your bank account from Venmo.
This is just Venmo’s way of testing to ensure that your account has been added correctly.
Venmo will refund the $1 back to you once your account has been verified.
There are a few other shortcuts that you can use to add a new payment balance aside from using the settings menu.
When transferring your balance to an external account, you can choose to add your payment information there.
Alternatively, when you are about to pay for something, an option will appear that allows you to choose which payment method you want to use.
At the bottom of that menu, there should be an option to add a new payment method.
Can I Have 2 Different Venmo Names?
The short answer is yes.
You can have different Venmo names, for personal and business accounts.
People who already have a Venmo account can choose to use their existing username for their new business account, or they can opt for a new username for the second profile.
Is It Possible To Have Just A Business Account?
Unfortunately, no.
If you open a business account, you will also need to have a personal account.
It is possible to have a personal account without opening a business one.
What Is The Incentive For Having 2 Separate Venmo Accounts?
Having two Venmo accounts is crucial for people who like to keep their personal and business expenses organized and separate.
Business expenses are taxed differently than personal ones, so it would be wise to use two separate accounts for taxation purposes.
Also, having a business account will allow you to share it with your business partner, making it easy to keep up to date on the company’s expenses.
Venmo for business has become extremely useful because the transactions can also sync with other financial software like QuickBooks.
The transaction will show in the ledger as a Venmo transaction, complete with a transaction number and dollar amount.
All the user needs to do is input what the transaction was for and the category of the expense or payment.
How Secure Is Venmo?
Well, it’s complicated.
Though Venmo is relatively secure and known for its double-end data encryption technology, it is not entirely hacker-proof.
Encryption protects your account information from being hacked so no one else can access your account and wrongfully send or receive money.
However, if your phone gets stolen or your password gets leaked, hackers can gain access to your Venmo account.
One user reported having his phone stolen on the street, and the robber then sent himself thousands of dollars via Venmo.
Venmo was unable to get the stolen money back and the phone’s owner was barred from using Venmo because of the breach.
One way to eliminate potential problems is to add friends to your Venmo account to make sure that you are paying the right person.
Unfortunately, if you pay the wrong person, Venmo does not guarantee that they will be able to get your money back, so you will have to rely on the good faith of the payee to return your money to you.
Many Venmo profiles have a picture, so you can check to ensure you are paying the correct person.
If you want to add more security to your account, Venmo gives users the option to create a PIN code and a thumbprint scan or Face ID for the phones that allow it.
This means users will need to verify their identity in some other way than just a password to gain access to the account, thereby preventing illicit users or hackers from sending or receiving money from accounts they don’t own.
Users should always be aware that with any form of mobile app or technology, there is always the risk of a data breach.
It is wise to not keep too much money in your Venmo balance and to transfer it to your bank when it surpasses a certain amount.
This past May, U.S. President Joe Biden’s Venmo account was hacked, which revealed the privacy vulnerabilities of the payment network.
Its social media element allowed several of Biden’s private social connections to be revealed, contributing to a national security issue.
His Venmo feed showed that he had sent money to his grandchildren and that he had a lot of his extended family and senior White House officials in his Venmo friends list.
It is impossible to hide your friends list on Venmo.
As soon as this was leaked, the President’s Venmo account was deleted.
If Venmo Is Free, How Do They Make Their Money?
Venmo makes money in several ways.
One of the main ways is instant transfer fees.
If you receive money in your Venmo account and want it transferred to your bank account immediately, this is possible.
Venmo charges a 1% fee for this, or you can wait for one to two days if you do not want to pay the fee.
If you have a credit card linked to Venmo, there is also a fee associated with that.
Credit cards incur a 3% processing fee.
The fee comes from the credit card companies and not Venmo, but the user is responsible for paying them.
Merchants who accept payment through Venmo must also pay a fee.
Since the app is designed for peer-to-peer transactions, merchants do not fall into this category and must pay the price.
Merchants must pay a 2.9% transaction fee plus an additional 30 cents for each transaction accepted through Venmo.
Venmo also offers its own branded debit card, which is linked to your Venmo balance and can be used to pay for things in stores, much like you can with regular debit cards.
It is a Mastercard and can be used at any ATM or merchant where Mastercard is accepted.
What Is Venmo Anyway?
Venmo is a “peer-to-peer” (P2P) payment app that allows you to send and receive payments for free.
You can connect your checking or savings accounts or credit and debit cards to your account.
You can then choose which payment method you would like to use when transferring or sending money.
It is especially handy when you do not have the exact amount of cash available for your share of the dinner tab or if you need to pay someone for a service like housecleaning or babysitting.
You can even use it to send birthday money as an easier and faster alternative to a paper check.
It started in 2009 as a text message payment system.
The famous Venmo app was launched in 2012.
It was quickly bought by Braintree, another mobile payment application, and then it was acquired by PayPal.
There are seasonal competitions and rewards for Venmo users.
For example, during the Chinese New Year, Venmo offered a promotion where, if you sent money as a gift by choosing the “gift wrapping” option in the app, you could win money.
Other promotions are offered by retailers, such as Chipotle, that periodically hold sweepstakes for free food if payment is done via Venmo.
In recent years, Venmo has started to partner with more retailers and servicers like Gap, Uber, and Lyft.
You can connect Venmo to your rideshare app to pay with your Venmo balance, or Venmo will automatically deduct payment from your linked bank account.
If you use Venmo to pay inside a store, there are often cash-back incentives and other rewards.
The best thing about Venmo is that it is free.
It is an easy alternative to cash when you need to request or send money.
It also allows you to pay organizations and vendors without going to their locations to pay in person.
While several other services charge transaction fees, Venmo is free (if it is for personal use).
Venmo also has a fun side and operates like a social media platform where you can view your friends’ recent transactions and recent transactions from strangers around the world.
However, it is optional to share your own transactions.
You can choose to always make your content private, or you can choose to make certain transactions private when you are sending and receiving money.
What Happens If My 1st Account Gets Deleted By Making A 2nd Venmo account?
If your first account gets deleted, you can contact Venmo customer service at [email protected]
How Does Venmo Work With Taxes?
There are no taxes levied on peer-to-peer transactions, such as paying your friend back for a coffee or charging someone for a babysitting gig, but if you run your business on Venmo, you will be taxed on transactions.
You will have to report this on your tax returns.
Venmo has also started to charge tax on peer-to-peer transactions that are captioned to seem like a service rendered.
For example, if you charge a friend for gas money and write “car ride,” your friend might receive a bit less than the full amount because Venmo might think it is a service rendered through a business.
Therefore, if you’re just doing peer-to-peer transactions, be careful how you write your captions.
Conclusion
Venmo is a revolutionary method of payment in the 21st century.
It makes it easy to split the bill among friends and ask for money without having to deal with cash and exact change.
Venmo has become so popular for personal use that it has made its foray into the business world with business accounts.
Users can have two Venmo accounts as long as one of them is personal and one of them is a business account.
A user cannot have two personal accounts or two business accounts, and all business accounts must also be associated with a personal account.
If you run your business through Venmo, you will still be responsible for reporting your income to the IRS if you make over a certain amount.