Venmo has exploded in popularity as one of the most convenient apps for sending and receiving money digitally. With over 60 million active users, it has become a quick and easy way to pay friends, split expenses, and make purchases online.
If you have a Vanilla gift card, you may be wondering if you can use it on Venmo. The great news is yes, Vanilla gift cards can be added to Venmo and used for payments, transfers, and more!
In this detailed guide, I will walk you through everything you need to know about using Vanilla gift cards on Venmo. You’ll learn step-by-step how to add the card, spend the balance, transfer funds, and maximize the value.
By the end, you’ll be a pro at using Vanilla gift cards seamlessly on Venmo. Let’s dive in!
First, let’s start with an overview of what Venmo and Vanilla gift cards are for those unfamiliar.
What Exactly is Venmo?
Venmo is a free peer-to-peer payment app that allows users to send and receive money with friends, family, and contacts easily. It offers a fun, social way to:
- Split bills and shared expenses like dinner, rent, utilities, and vacation costs
- Pay someone back for drinks, concert tickets, or their share of the Lyft ride
- Send money as a gift for birthdays, holidays, or just because
- Make purchases from approved merchants directly within the app
- Instantly transfer funds to a connected bank account
The Venmo app syncs directly with your bank account or debit/credit card. You can send payments to anyone else on Venmo without fees. The newsfeed shows fun comments, reactions, and emojis on payments.
Venmo is hugely popular for splitting checks, paying friends back, chipping in for gifts, rent payments, and handling shared bills. It takes the awkwardness out of money exchange.
What are Vanilla Gift Cards Exactly?
A Vanilla gift card is a prepaid credit card that works just like any other Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover gift card.
Vanilla offers gift cards ranging from $20 to $500 that can be easily purchased at convenience stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, and many other retailers. You can buy one for yourself or give it as a gift.
The recipient can use the Vanilla gift card anywhere that accepts Visa or Mastercard payments. This includes retail stores, restaurants, online shopping, bill payments, and even peer-to-peer apps like Venmo!
Now that you understand Venmo and Vanilla gift cards, let’s look at using them together…
Can You Use Vanilla Gift Cards on the Venmo App?
The great news is yes, you can definitely use Vanilla gift cards within the Venmo app for payments, transfers, and more!
Venmo accepts all major credit card networks including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
Since Vanilla offers both Visa and Mastercard branded gift cards, you can easily add your gift card and utilize the funds in your Venmo account.
The process only takes a couple of minutes to add and activate the gift card in Venmo. Once added, the full balance is available to spend through Venmo payments, merchants, transfers, and more.
Now I will walk through step-by-step instructions on adding a Vanilla card into Venmo and using it for transactions.
Step-by-Step Guide to Add a Vanilla Gift Card to Venmo
Adding a Vanilla gift card to your Venmo wallet takes just 7 simple steps:
- Open up the Venmo app on your iPhone or Android device. You can download the app for free from the App Store or Google Play Store.
- Tap the “☰” menu icon in the top left corner of the Venmo app. This opens up the side menu.
- Scroll down and select the “Settings” option from the menu. This will open the Settings page.
- Under Settings, tap on “Preferences” to open the Preferences submenu.
- In Preferences, choose “Payment Methods” which will display your cards and accounts.
- On the Payment Methods page, tap the “+ Add a Bank or Card” button at the top right.
- On the Add Card screen, select the “Card” option if it isn’t already chosen.
- Carefully enter your Vanilla gift card information:
- 16-digit card number
- Expiration date
- 3 or 4-digit security CVV code
For added security, use your phone’s camera to scan and upload images of the front and back of the physical gift card. This doubles checks all numbers are entered correctly.
Then enter the 5-digit billing zip code on the gift card if it has one. Finally, tap the “Add Card” button once all the details are filled in.
Venmo will verify the card details which takes just a few seconds. Once verified, the Vanilla gift card will show up as a payment method under your account, ready for purchases!
And that’s all it takes to add your Vanilla gift card to the Venmo app – usually less than a minute. You’ll now see it as a payment option.
How to Use a Vanilla Gift Card for Payments in Venmo
Now let’s discuss the many ways you can use your Vanilla gift card balance in Venmo:
- Pay friends – Use the gift card funds to pay your friends back for dinner, drinks, concert tickets, or any shared expense. It’s easy and fast.
- Pay approved merchants – Make purchases from Venmo’s approved merchants and select your gift card as the payment method during checkout.
- Instant transfers – Instantly transfer the gift card balance or a portion of it to your bank account linked to Venmo. Transfers are usually available in your account within 30 minutes.
- Add to Venmo balance – You can also move some or all of the gift card funds to your Venmo balance to use for future payments within the app. Your Venmo balance can be used for friends, merchants, or transfers.
Anytime you need to select a payment method within Venmo, your Vanilla gift card will show up as an option. Use the funds until the card is used up!
Let’s look at some examples of spending a Vanilla gift card balance on Venmo:
- Pay your friend $40 for your share of the Uber ride home, using the gift card as the payment method.
- Buy a $125 airline ticket from a Venmo merchant, selecting the gift card at checkout to pay.
- Transfer $75 from the total $100 gift card balance instantly into your connected bank account.
- Add the remaining $25 gift card balance to your Venmo wallet to use for your next payment.
As you can see, Venmo offers endless possibilities for getting the most value from your Vanilla gift card funds.
Tips for Avoiding Issues When Using Vanilla Gift Cards on Venmo
While using a Vanilla gift card on Venmo is easy, keep these tips in mind to avoid potential hiccups:
- You can only add up to 4 gift cards total to your Venmo account within a 6 month period. After deleting a card, you must wait 6 months to add a new one.
- Venmo may decline payments from the gift card due to low balance, suspected fraud triggers, or other violations. Always have a secondary payment method.
- Carefully review Venmo’s fees and transfer timing for moving gift card money to your bank account. Instant transfers incur a small fee.
- Contact Vanilla Card support or Venmo support through the app if you encounter any issues using the gift card for payments.
By keeping those tips in mind, you can seamlessly use your Vanilla gift card funds on Venmo without hassles.
Conclusion
Hopefully this detailed, step-by-step guide provided everything you need to confidently add your Vanilla gift card to Venmo and use the balance.
Taking a minute to add the gift card to Venmo unlocks so many possibilities to maximize the value through digital payments and transfers.
Since Venmo readily accepts major credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard, you can take advantage of any Vanilla branded gift card. Don’t let that gift card go to waste.
Add it to your Venmo account and enjoy the flexibility of easily spending or transferring the balance. You’ll get so much more convenience and use out of Vanilla gift cards with Venmo.
