Venmo has become one of the most popular payment apps, allowing users to easily send and receive money from friends or businesses.
Once you hit that send button, your payment is processed almost instantly.
But what if you make a mistake and need to cancel a Venmo payment?
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to outright cancel a Venmo payment once it’s been sent from your account.
However, there are a few things you can try to potentially get your money back.
Read on below!
Why You Might Want to Cancel a Payment
There are several reasons why you may need to cancel a payment you’ve sent through Venmo:
- You accidentally sent money to the wrong recipient or account.
- You entered the wrong amount for the payment.
- You paid an inactive Venmo account.
- You made a duplicate payment by mistake.
Making mistakes with payments happens. The good news is, that while you can’t directly cancel payments on Venmo, you still have options.
Venmo Payments are Instant and Irreversible
A core feature of Venmo is the ability to instantly send money between users. Within seconds of submitting a payment, the funds are immediately made available in the recipient’s Venmo account.
This instant transfer means it’s not possible to cancel or reverse a payment after you’ve hit send. The money is already in the recipient’s balance, and they have full access to it.
However, if you quickly realize your error and act fast, you may still have a chance to get the money back before the recipient transfers it out of their Venmo account.
If the full accidental payment amount is still showing in their available balance, they should be able to simply send it back your way if asked.
How Do I Cancel a Venmo Payment?
If you need to essentially “cancel” a Venmo payment, here are some tips on what you can try:
1. Ask the Recipient to Send the Money Back
The easiest option is to directly contact the recipient, explain what happened, and request they send the funds back to you.
Start by sending them a message through Venmo or reach out to them by phone/text/email if you have their contact information. Be polite in your request and clearly explain why you need them to return the payment. For example, “Hello, I accidentally sent you a $50 payment that was meant for someone else. Would you please send that amount back to me?”
Assuming the full payment amount is still available in the recipient’s Venmo balance, they should be able to easily transfer it back to your account. It will function just like a regular Venmo payment, except the funds will be going back to you.
If they confirm the payment was a mistake, there’s no reason for the recipient not to send the money back, as long as it’s still shown as available in their account balance. It’s the same process as if you had requested money from them for any other reason.
Be sure to follow up if you don’t see the returned payment come through in a reasonable amount of time. If the recipient transferred the funds out already or refuses to send it back, you may need to take additional steps to get your money returned.
2. Use the Venmo “Pay or Request” Feature
If you need the recipient to return funds from an incorrect Venmo payment, use the convenient “Request” feature in the Venmo app:
- Open up the Venmo app and tap on the “Pay or Request” button.
- In the space provided, enter the username of the account you mistakenly sent the payment to.
- Write a brief note or reason why you’re requesting the specific amount back. For example, “Accidental incorrect payment, please return”.
- Enter the exact dollar amount of the original payment you sent them.
- Select the blue “Request” button and confirm the details.
Sending a Venmo request will notify the recipient you’re seeking the specific funds back. It’s an easy way for them to see how much you need returned and quickly complete the payment back to you.
You can also send additional reminders if you don’t receive the payment after a couple of days.
3. Contact Venmo Customer Support
If asking the recipient directly doesn’t work, or they are unable to send the money back, your next step is to contact Venmo customer support for help.
Reach out to their support team via email or phone, explain what happened, and specifically request if they can cancel or reverse the erroneous payment.
Keep in mind that Venmo does not guarantee they will be able to get your funds returned in these situations. But it’s still worth asking their support team if they can investigate the issue and take any possible action on their end.
4. Check For “Pending” Status
If you send money to someone’s phone number or email that isn’t registered with Venmo yet, the payment will initially show as “Pending.”
In these cases, you can cancel the transaction from the Pending section of your Venmo account.
Just locate the pending payment and select cancel.
Also read: 11 Venmo Scams You Must Be Aware Of
What to do if you receive an unsolicited payment on Venmo
If someone says they accidentally sent you money via Venmo, or you received an incorrect amount from someone, you’ll need to send the funds back to them. Venmo can’t reverse these types of transactions.
Before taking any action, verify that the payment and user profile appear legitimate. Then simply send the funds back to the stated sender. As long as the full amount is still in your Venmo balance, you can easily return it.
If you no longer have the full amount available, you’ll need to fund the return payment using your linked payment method. But do your due diligence first to ensure the claim is valid.
Also read: List of 9 Celebrities That Use Venmo
The Bottom Line
While you can’t directly cancel Venmo payments, there are ways to get your money back in many cases if you act fast. T
ake preventative steps to avoid mistakes, and use Wise for all international transfers.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for tips, i requested the person and he sent me my money back.