Venmo has added a new checking cashing feature titled ‘Cash A Check’. Currently this feature is being rolled out to select users as part of a trial. Eventually this feature will involve fees (1% for checks with a pre printed signature and 5% for a hand written signature. Minimum fee will be $5), but currently these fees are waived on stimulus checks for a limited time. To be eligible for this feature users need to have done the following:
- Receive a direct deposit or have a Venmo debit card
- Location services turned on
- Verified e-mail address
We’ve seen other fintechs reach into this sort of market with Cash App offering loans with an APR of 60%. PayPal has the same fee structure as this new offering from Venmo as well for cashing a check.
Stay AWAY from anything Paypal related!
Congrats on getting into the payday loan biz Venmo. The only people that will use this are check fraudsters.
If you’re technically skilled enough to use Venmo you should be able to open a bank account with Chime, SoFi, T-Mobile Money, or any of the others, all of which are real banks.
What a stinking garbage company Paypal is. Even Walmart is much cheaper when cashing a check and most of the people I know with no bank accounts just cash their checks there.
Disgusting
5%, $5 min to cash a check ??????
Clearly this business has risks, and fees are needed to mitigate that risk, but what’s the benefit to the user for this over mobile deposit into a fee-free bank account (chime, capital one, soFi)???
Probably just to serve the underbanked who pay money to get their checks cashed physically at other places like pawn shops
With the availability of online banks are there really people that can’t get a bank account these days? I don’t mean to tone death but the problem seems not to be availability but people knowing their options.
That’s crazy anyone would pay that much and seems like Venmo is praying upon people just like these high interest loan places. Frankly I don’t understand how the underbanked exist. It takes damn near nothing to open a checking account. Everything is automated now so discrimination shouldn’t be a big factor. I’m thinking the underbanked are mostly undocumented residents and people on the Chex blacklist. To be fair, that’s probably a significant number of people in the United States.
Many people don’t trust banks and are happy to pay for check cashing.
But not sure why anyone would trust PP more than a bank.
Banks give people free money as long as you read the terms and conditions. I don’t understand not trusting banks, especially with FDIC and CFPB
That is why we need postal banking for the poor. Obviously, the US Postal Service would be the most trustworthy organization for our money.
“postal banking for the poor”
By government standards, this organization is doing great. Better on-time standards than the VA, better losses than SSA, hell, maybe we should set up “Government Health Clinics & Pharmacies by Postal Services” – let them run that area too! Postal Healthcare.
There is a bank now specifically for the undocumented. But people financially illiterate people will continue to use services like this because they “trust” the Venmo name. I actually know someone IRL that uses paypal as their savings account. I had to scoop my jaw off the ground.
If ya burn EWS/Chex with some dumb scams or fraud then yea, you’ll be stuck with those online banks for a while
Most people don’t know better
>>Most people don’t know better
Please tell me that’s a joke.
I’d hope most people know better than to do “dumb scams or fraud” that would burn their Chex. That’s just excuse-making.
Not trusting the banks…. I get that. Big, big difference.
I would wager most people have never heard of Chex. The first time I opened an account for a bonus and mentioned it to friends or coworkers they thought I was weird for having more than one bank account
Doubt venom is trying to target readers of this website with this feature. Considering they have options for receiving money instantly for as few as opposed to waiting forever(2-3 days). It’s probably just aiming to get a quick buck out of the lazy and careless.
Why on earth would anyone pay $5 to cash a check
Another money grab feature….