Venmo payment failed, declined or stuck on 'Pending'? Why it happens and how to fix each cause

Cause 1: Your bank or card issuer declined it

Venmo charges the bank account or card you picked, and that bank or card company can refuse it for its own reasons, for example not enough money in the account or the issuer's own fraud checks. Venmo describes this as a decline outside of Venmo, so Venmo support can't override it.

Venmo's suggested steps, in order:

• If the decline message tells you to contact your bank or card issuer, do that. Ask them whether they blocked a Venmo payment and whether they can allow it.
• Add money to your Venmo balance and pay from the balance instead. Venmo notes that if your balance covers a payment, the balance is used automatically.
• Switch to a different bank account or card. Tap the bank or card shown at the bottom of the payment screen to change it before you send. Venmo says you can't change the payment method after a payment has been sent.
• Wait and try again later.

Cause 2: The payment triggered a Venmo security flag

Venmo runs automated checks on payments, and its help center says a payment attempt can be declined because it triggered one of those security flags. Venmo does not publish what sets them off, so be wary of anyone who claims to know the exact rules.

What you can do is rule out the app and your connection, then try another way to pay. Venmo's help pages suggest these steps:

• Check your internet connection and turn off any VPN. Venmo notes that logging in works only from the U.S.
• Log out and back in, or delete and reinstall the app to get the latest version. Venmo says reinstalling doesn't affect your account.
• Try paying from your Venmo balance or a different card, then try again later.
• If it keeps happening, go to Venmo's Contact Us page and choose 'Connect with Support', or in the app go to 'Me', then 'Settings', 'Get Help', 'Chat With Us' and ask for an agent.

Cause 3: You hit a weekly limit, often because you haven't verified your identity

This catches a lot of new accounts. Venmo's help page on personal profile payment limits says that if you haven't completed identity verification, your weekly spending limit is $299.99, and that limit covers both payments to people and payments to authorized merchants. After verification, Venmo says you can send up to $60,000 per week. Venmo's identity verification page also lists sending $300 or more in a rolling 7-day period as one of the things that can prompt a verification request.

The limit is rolling, not reset on a fixed day: Venmo says each transaction counts against it for one week from the moment it was authorized. A $250 payment sent last Thursday afternoon stops counting this Thursday afternoon.

Business profiles have different numbers. Venmo lists a weekly payment limit of $2,499.99 before identity verification on a business profile, and $25,000 per week in payments to other Venmo users after it. Venmo also says payments can be declined for reasons unrelated to limits.

To verify on a personal profile:

• Open the Venmo mobile app. Venmo says verification is only available in the app, not on the website.
• Tap the 'Me' tab, then the Settings gear in the top right.
• Tap 'Identity Verification' and follow the prompts. You will need a Social Security number or ITIN; Venmo says you can't complete verification without one.
• If the automatic check can't confirm your details, for example because your name or address has changed, Venmo will ask you to upload documents in the app. Make sure the legal name on your account matches your documents.
• Venmo says it usually takes a few minutes, longer if documents need review.

Cause 4: A bank payment failed and your account was frozen

If an earlier payment from your bank bounced, Venmo freezes the account until it is repaid, and new payments won't go through in the meantime. You will see a notice that the account is 'frozen due to a failed payment'. Venmo's help page names the two common causes: insufficient funds at the time of the transaction, and exceeding the number of ACH transfers your bank account permits. Venmo says it can't see which one applied, so your bank has to tell you.

Tap 'Restore your account' in the app and follow the prompts, or open venmo.com/recover in a computer's browser. You can pay part of the amount by changing the repayment figure before you confirm, and any money you receive on Venmo is applied to what you owe automatically. Venmo says a debit card is the fastest way to repay, a bank account can take up to 5 business days, and the account stays frozen until the full amount is recovered. You'll get an email when it unfreezes.

If a linked bank account keeps failing, check that the details match your bank's records exactly. Venmo's advice is to remove the account and link it again if the information is wrong, or link a different bank account or eligible debit card.

Cause 5: The payment says 'Pending'

A pending payment is not a failed one. Venmo gives two reasons it stays that way.

First, bank processing. When a payment is funded from your bank account, Venmo says the bank may need 3 to 5 business days to clear it, and you can't speed it up. Payments from a debit card, a credit card or your Venmo balance aren't held up this way.

Second, the recipient hasn't claimed it. If their phone number or email isn't verified or isn't linked to a Venmo account, your payment method is charged but the money waits until they finish setting up. You can cancel it by tapping 'Take Back' under the transaction in the 'Me' tab. If nobody claims it, Venmo says it expires after 30 days and returns to your payment method.

To avoid bank delays in future, Venmo suggests paying with a linked debit card, or verifying your bank account with the 'Instant' method through Plaid.

Selling on Venmo: use the right kind of payment

If you're paying for, or getting paid for, goods and services, Venmo has rules about how that money moves. Its buying and selling FAQ says Venmo can't be used to receive business or merchant payments unless Venmo has explicitly authorized it, and the two authorized routes are a business profile or a payment the buyer tags as a purchase to a personal profile.

Purchase-tagged payments come with a fee taken out of what the seller receives. Venmo's example is a $100 purchase payment arriving as $98, and Venmo doesn't return that fee if the seller later refunds. Receiving payments for goods and services is also one of the triggers Venmo lists for identity verification, so a seller who hasn't verified may run into limits sooner than expected.

New sellers should also expect holds. Venmo says payments can be held if you are a new seller, if a payment is unusual for your pattern, or after a long period of inactivity. Held money still belongs to you and is released automatically within 21 days.

Prevent it next time

Most failed Venmo payments come from the same few things, and a few habits stop them before they start.

• Verify your identity before you need to send larger amounts: 'Me', Settings gear, 'Identity Verification'.
• Remember the weekly limit is rolling. Count back seven days from now, not to the start of the week.
• Keep a debit card linked as a backup, and replace card details as soon as a new card arrives.
• Keep enough money in the linked bank account for bank-funded payments, so a bounce doesn't freeze your account.
• Before sending to someone new, check you have the right person, and that they have a Venmo account set up.
• If you sell, use a business profile or ask buyers to tag payments as purchases, and expect a hold while you are new.

If your customers need another way to pay

If you sell to customers and Venmo keeps getting in the way, a OneSol page on the Pro plan can take card payments through your own Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay or Square account, which gives buyers another way to pay you alongside Venmo.