Posted by In today’s age of technological advancements and the increasing use of mobile phones and electric transfers, apps like cash app and Venmo have taken off. Who wouldn’t just want to pay an employee or friend by a few taps on your iPhone or computer screen? There are not many people who would respond with a no to this question which is why companies like this have started to thrive. They allow their users to connect their credit cards or banking accounts to the website which grants a smooth transfer of money between the sites. Personally, I have started to use Venmo for most of my transactions and absolutely love the simplicity and ease at which I can send money to people. Venmo and Cash app have changed the game for transfers of money between people and gaining more and more momentum as companies.
Almost every website ever created has some type of restrictions or regulatory measures in place to ensure the safety of the company. Especially websites dealing with money and people’s personal savings and checking’s accounts. When it comes to money, people can be extremely overprotective and get very uptight when something happens to their funds which is why it is so critical for monetary websites to have safety precautions in place. Venmo is a perfect example of a website who has put restrictions in place to ensure the safety of its customers money. For example, those who do not verify their identity with the app can only spend up to $300 a week while those with a verified identity can spend up to $60,000. That is a pretty large difference between amounts. Venmo is required to verify user’s identities by the federal government to help prevent fraud and identity theft on the website. Obviously Venmo is being required to take personal information, but either way it would still be a good idea so they could get a feel for a person’s monetary habits to protect their accounts if any unusual circumstances occur.
Another place Venmo looks to restrict its users is by putting certain restraints on Mastercard debit cards. These debit cards have a few specific limits placed on them such as a $7,000 weekly spending limit, $3,000 daily spending limit, $400 daily withdrawal limit, and personal reload limits. I think Venmo is smart for putting restrictions on debit cards due to the fact money comes right out of someone personal checking’s account whenever they make a purchase. Also, if someone were to steal a debit card and spend someone else’s money, they would almost never get the money spent back. So, if someone were to steal a debit card and try to go Venmo themselves money, they could only get $3,000 out of the account before the person who had their card stolen would most likely realize someone is spending money off their account. This allows Venmo users to feel much more confident and safe when putting their card and personal information into the website.
Another way Venmo makes its users feel safe is by allowing users to decide who can see their payments and purchases. The app grants people three separate options of privacy settings being public, friends only, or private. If you choose a public account everyone can see your transactions, compared to a friend’s only account where only your friends can see your transactions. If you have a private account, only the person you are sending or receiving money from can see the transaction. There is also an option to change the privacy setting for an individual purchase or payment. This is another example of Venmo trying to leave its users satisfied and give them the option of who can and can’t see who they are interacting with. Due to most of the restrictions of Venmo being forced onto users such as the daily spending limits and debit card restrictions, this gives the users the chance to determine their own account privacy.
Venmo also has personal bank transfer regulations which limit the amount of money people can add onto their Venmo accounts and transfer from their accounts and into their bank accounts. When the ability to add funds from your bank account is offered you, you can add funds using the standard method which allows you to insert $1,500 per week. However, some Venmo debit cardholders also have the option of instant add money which has its separate limit of $500. When it comes to transferring money from Venmo and into your bank account, if you have an unconfirmed identity, you can send a maximum of $1,000 to your account per week. Once your identity is confirmed, you can transfer up to $20,000 per week with the largest single available transfer at $5,000 and the lowest at $0.26. I think Venmo does a very good job of calculating specific amounts of money that people can transfer to any of their accounts. They do not allow the process of extremely large transfers or exchanges which helps to keep the site clean and could discourage illegal activity from occurring. They also have their app programmed to make it physically impossible for anyone to go against their restrictions which limits any user confusion and allows for no leniencies.
The main 4 regulations and restrictions of Venmo are in place to ensure the safety of user’s money and solidify Venmo as a trustworthy website. Some of the website’s regulations are due to the federal government’s country wide regulations but the ones that aren’t are still strategically constructed by Venmo. Most of the regulations are also interrelated with their being limits on how much a user can pay or receive from another user while there’s also restrictions on how much someone can take out or put into their accounts. These two processes are closely related because if you’re restricted with how much money you can receive, it would make sense for you to only be able to transfer a certain amount of money into your account. It’s a smart idea to have many of the regulations piggyback off each other because it would make it easier for the users to grasp and keep a smooth flow of money within your account. Overall, I believe Venmo has done a great job of regulating their website and keeping it up and running as smooth as possible. Venmo has emerged onto the scene of being one of the faster growing U.S. companies and their regulations are one of the reasons for it. To run a big company, you must have measures in place to prevent users from being unhappy and as a monetary company, keep people’s money safe. The restrictions in place are doing both of those things hence why I believe Venmo’s done a great job with its rules and regulations.
References:
Personal Profile Payment Limits – Venmo. https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/221010968-Personal-Profile-Payment-Limits.