The main benefits that Venmo and Zelle both offer are speed and ease. Both are available to make it simpler to transfer money, for example, to send money to a friend to pay for beverages or gas. There are some significant distinctions between both, though, and some people might prefer one over the other.
According to the company website, Zelle is primarily a user-friendly system for transfers between bank accounts; it is integrated with a number of banks and credit unions and also functions with a companion mobile app. If a user receives money but doesn’t have a bank account linked to Zelle, they can still get it by linking their debit card and phone number to the app. According to the business, the majority of transactions take place “in minutes,” however in order to utilize the site, consumers must have a bank or savings account. Additionally, there are no costs for sending and receiving money using Zelle.
Venmo operates differently than a bank-based application because it is a stand-alone service. If the money is sent from a bank account or debit card, transfers between Venmo members are free. However, sending money through a credit card will cost you 3% of the entire amount. Unless the sender pays a 1.75% fee for a quick transfer, transfers take one to three days to reach the recipient, according to the Venmo Help Center .
Depending on your demands, either Zelle or Venmo will work better for you. Both services offer advantages and disadvantages. Venmo is your only choice out of the two if you don’t want to open a bank or savings account, for example, in order to utilize Zelle. Of course, if you don’t want to do that, Venmo is your only alternative. Although the transfers only take a few minutes and are free, Zelle is more tempting to consumers who have access to it through their bank. In contrast, Venmo charges a fee for same-day transfers. While iOS and Android are at the heart of both Zelle and Venmo, users of the latter service can also send money from a PC by checking in to their bank’s website.
Unlike Venmo, Zelle doesn’t issue credit or debit cards because its members are automatically qualified for cards through their banks. Additionally, the service doesn’t keep a cash balance apart from consumers’ bank accounts. Furthermore, if your friends are already using Venmo, it can be more difficult for them to accept the money you send them using Zelle because it doesn’t have the same level of brand awareness as Venmo.
Users of Venmo do not need a bank account to keep track of their cash balances within the app. All of Venmo’s card options run on the Mastercard network, which makes them widely accepted by both online and offline merchants. Even now, Venmo is experimenting with cryptocurrency, allowing cards to collect cashback rewards in the form of cryptocurrency. However, the social component of Venmo is still debatable, which can be a valid cause for some users to choose Zelle as their main platform in place of Venmo.
