For over a decade, sending money from Venmo to PayPal meant an awkward dance: cash out to your bank, wait, then reload the other app. That finally ended. As of November 2025, PayPal and Venmo—which have shared the same corporate parent since 2014—became directly interoperable in the U.S. In March 2026, PayPal extended the feature internationally, letting Venmo users reach hundreds of millions of PayPal accounts across roughly 90 markets.
Here’s the short answer: yes, you can now send money directly between Venmo and PayPal, and within the U.S. it’s usually free. Below is exactly how it works, what it costs, and the limits you should know before you tap “Pay.”
Can You Really Send Money Directly Now?
You can. This isn’t a workaround or a third-party bridge—it’s built into both apps. A Venmo user can pay a PayPal user (and vice versa) using a phone number, with email address support rolling in as an additional identifier. The transfer moves straight from one wallet to the other without a bank pit stop.
One important catch up front: this is send-and-receive only. According to both PayPal and Venmo help pages, “requests across platforms aren’t possible right now.” You can push money to someone on the other app, but you can’t send them a cross-platform payment request. If you need to be paid, the other person has to initiate the send.
How to Send Money From Venmo to PayPal (and Back)
The flow mirrors a normal in-app payment. The key is searching by phone number rather than username.
- Open your app (Venmo or PayPal) and start a new payment.
- Search by the recipient’s phone number—the identifier that works across platforms. Email support is expanding as a second option.
- Confirm the match. The recipient should appear as a person on the other network. Double-check the name before sending.
- Choose your funding source (balance, linked bank, debit card, or credit card).
- Enter the amount and send. Domestic transfers are typically instant.
To be found by someone on the other app, you may need to adjust your search privacy so users on the other platform can locate you by phone number. If a friend says they can’t find you, that setting is the first thing to check.
What Cross-Platform Transfers Cost
The headline is friendly: domestic person-to-person transfers between the two apps are free when funded the normal way. Fees only appear when you use a credit card or send internationally.
| Scenario | Funding source | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. → U.S. transfer | Balance, linked bank, or debit card | $0 |
| U.S. → U.S. transfer | Credit card | 3% (Venmo standard credit-card fee) |
| International transfer | Balance / bank / debit | $0 international fee through Aug 24, 2026 (promo); a currency-conversion spread still applies |
| Instant cash-out to your own bank/card | N/A (separate action) | 1.75% ($0.25 min, $25 max) |
Note that the instant-transfer fee in the last row isn’t a cross-platform charge—it’s the standard cost of pulling money out of either wallet to your own debit card or bank instantly. Sending between Venmo and PayPal itself doesn’t trigger it.
Worked Example 1: Splitting Dinner
Maria uses Venmo; her friend Dev only has PayPal. Maria owes him $30. She searches Dev’s phone number in Venmo, funds the payment from her Venmo balance, and sends. Dev gets $30 in his PayPal wallet in seconds. Total cost: $0.
Worked Example 2: Credit Card Convenience
Same $30, but Maria’s balance is empty and she doesn’t want to wait on a bank transfer, so she funds with a credit card. Venmo’s 3% credit-card fee applies: $0.90. Dev still receives the full $30; Maria pays $30.90. Using her linked bank instead would have kept it free.
Limits to Keep in Mind
Everyday domestic transfers follow each app’s normal sending limits (which rise once your identity is verified). International cross-platform transfers have their own published caps:
| Window | International limit |
|---|---|
| Per transaction | $2,500 |
| Daily | $5,000 |
| Weekly | $10,000 |
| Monthly | $25,000 |
One more edge case worth knowing: some Mastercard debit or credit cards may be disabled as a funding source if the recipient doesn’t have a verified address on file. If a payment won’t go through, ask the recipient to confirm their account details are complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to link my Venmo and PayPal accounts together?
No. You don’t merge or connect your own accounts. You simply search for the other person by phone number inside whichever app you already use. The interoperability happens on PayPal’s network side—there’s nothing to set up beyond making sure your privacy settings let others find you.
Why can’t the person on PayPal request money from my Venmo?
Cross-platform payment requests aren’t supported yet—only direct sends. If someone on PayPal needs money from you (on Venmo), you have to initiate the payment yourself by searching their phone number. This may change as the feature matures, but for now it’s send-only across platforms.
Is sending internationally really free right now?
PayPal is running a promotion waiving the international transfer fee through August 24, 2026 for sending to PayPal users in 90-plus markets. Keep in mind a currency-conversion spread can still apply when money changes currencies, so “$0 fee” isn’t always “$0 total cost” on cross-border transfers. Check the exchange rate shown before confirming.
How fast does the money arrive?
Domestic transfers between Venmo and PayPal are typically instant. International payments usually land within minutes but can vary by the recipient’s country and currency. The money goes into the recipient’s app balance—getting it to their bank account is a separate step that may carry the standard 1.75% instant-transfer fee if they don’t want to wait for a free standard transfer.
The Bottom Line
After years of forcing users into clunky bank-transfer workarounds, PayPal and Venmo now let you move money directly between the two apps. Domestically it’s free when you use your balance, bank, or debit card; just search by phone number and avoid credit-card funding to skip the 3% fee. Remember the two big limitations—no cross-platform requests, and international currency spreads still apply—and you’ll get the most out of the connection.
WalletWisp provides informational content only and is not financial advice. Fees, limits, and promotional dates change—confirm current details in the Venmo or PayPal app before sending.
