For years, the walls between Venmo and PayPal felt permanent. If your friend used one app and you used the other, somebody had to download a second wallet or fall back on cash. That wall is now gone. As of its 2026 rollout, PayPal and Venmo are natively connected, so you can send money from one app straight to the other using nothing but a phone number — with email support on the way.
Here’s exactly how cross-app payments work, what they cost, and the one privacy setting you’ll want to check before anyone tries to pay you.
What Actually Changed
This connection is part of a larger PayPal initiative called PayPal World, a platform built to link major digital wallets so money moves between them without friction. The first and most useful piece for everyday U.S. users is simple: a Venmo user can now pay a PayPal user (and vice versa) directly, no second app required.
The key detail is that you find the other person by their phone number. Phone numbers are unique to one account, so unlike usernames or display names, there’s far less risk of paying the wrong “John S.” PayPal has said email-address lookup will be added in a later update, but at launch, phone number is the reliable identifier for cross-app sends.
The Setting to Check First
This is the step most people miss. Cross-app payments only work if the recipient has made their account discoverable to the other platform. If your friend tries to pay you from PayPal and can’t find you, this is almost always why.
- In Venmo: Go to Settings → Privacy → Find me and make sure you’re searchable by PayPal users via your phone number. This is what lets PayPal users locate and pay you.
- In PayPal: Adjust your search privacy settings so your account is set to include People on Venmo, which lets Venmo users discover you by phone number.
If you value privacy and prefer not to be searchable across platforms, you can leave these off — just know that cross-app payments to you won’t go through until they’re enabled.
How to Send Money Cross-App (Step by Step)
The flow is nearly identical in both directions. Here’s the Venmo-to-PayPal example:
- Open the Venmo app and start a new payment.
- In the search field, enter the recipient’s full phone number (the one linked to their PayPal account).
- Confirm the correct person appears, then enter the amount and an optional note.
- Choose your funding source — Venmo balance, linked bank account, or debit card.
- Review any fees shown on screen, then confirm and send.
Sending from PayPal to Venmo works the same way: search by the recipient’s phone number, pick your funding source, review, and send. One important limitation: payment requests don’t work across platforms yet — only direct payments. You can send money to the other app, but you can’t request it from someone on the other app.
Fees and Limits at a Glance
| Scenario | Cost / Limit |
|---|---|
| Domestic U.S. send via balance, bank, or debit card | No fee |
| Personal payment funded by credit card | Fee applies (shown before you send) |
| International transfer | Fees may apply (shown before you send) |
| International — per transaction | $2,500 |
| International — daily | $5,000 |
| International — weekly | $10,000 |
| International — monthly | $25,000 |
The headline for most U.S. users: as long as you fund the payment with your balance, a linked bank account, or a debit card, a domestic cross-app send costs nothing. The fee only appears if you reach for a credit card or send internationally — and in every case, the total is displayed before you confirm.
A Worked Example
Say Maria uses Venmo and her roommate Devon uses PayPal. They’re splitting a $90 electric bill, so Maria owes Devon $45.
- Devon first opens PayPal and confirms his search privacy setting includes People on Venmo.
- Maria opens Venmo, searches Devon’s phone number, and he appears as a valid PayPal recipient.
- She enters $45, selects her Venmo balance as the funding source, and sees $0 in fees.
- She confirms. The $45 lands in Devon’s PayPal account within moments.
Total cost to either of them: zero. Had Maria funded the $45 with a credit card instead, Venmo would have shown a small fee on the confirmation screen first.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
- Double-check the phone number. Since the number is the identifier, a typo could route money to the wrong person.
- Payments are usually instant and can’t be canceled. Most sends go through immediately, so there’s no undo button — confirm the recipient carefully.
- Availability varies internationally. Whether you can send to a given country depends on the recipient’s region.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pay a PayPal user from Venmo by email yet?
Not at launch. Cross-app payments currently rely on the recipient’s phone number. PayPal has said email-address lookup is planned for a future update, but for now, use the full phone number tied to the other person’s account.
Why can’t my friend find me when they try to pay me?
The most common reason is a discoverability setting. The person receiving money must allow the other platform to find them. In Venmo, check Settings → Privacy → Find me; in PayPal, make sure your search settings include People on Venmo. Once enabled, your phone number becomes searchable from the other app.
Does it cost money to send between Venmo and PayPal?
For domestic U.S. transfers funded by your balance, a linked bank account, or a debit card, there’s no fee. A fee applies if you fund the payment with a credit card, and international transfers may carry fees. In all cases, the cost is shown before you confirm.
Can I request money from someone on the other app?
Not yet. Cross-platform payment requests aren’t supported at this stage — the feature only handles direct, one-way payments. You can send to someone on the other app, but to collect money, they’ll need to send it to you.
The Bottom Line
The Venmo–PayPal connection removes one of the most annoying friction points in peer-to-peer payments: picking the “right” app. Sending is as simple as entering a phone number, choosing a fee-free funding source, and confirming. Just remember the one step people overlook — turn on your discoverability setting first, so money can actually find its way to you.
WalletWisp is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Always confirm current fees, limits, and settings directly in the Venmo or PayPal app before sending money.
