Table of Contents
If you are trying to figure out how to send money from Venmo to PayPal, the first thing to know is that there is no direct transfer feature between the two apps. Despite the fact that PayPal owns Venmo, they operate as separate platforms with separate balances and no built-in mechanism to push money from one to the other. This catches a lot of people off guard, especially when they know both apps are technically under the same company umbrella.
The workaround that actually works routes money through a linked bank account. It takes one to three business days on the free path or can be sped up with fees. This guide walks through each method step by step, what it costs, how long it takes, and a faster alternative if you need money to move across apps without the bank-as-middleman delay.
Can You Send Money Directly from Venmo to PayPal?
No. Venmo does not have a send feature that targets a PayPal account, and PayPal does not have a receive feature that accepts incoming transfers from Venmo. The two apps share a corporate parent but operate independently for most user-facing functions. Your Venmo balance, any money sitting in your Venmo account, cannot be pushed directly to a PayPal balance without leaving both platforms in the middle.
This is a deliberate product decision rather than a technical limitation. Keeping balances siloed within each platform encourages continued use of each one separately. The practical consequence for users is that getting money from one app to the other requires an intermediary step, almost always a bank account or debit card that is linked to both.
Method 1: Transfer Through Your Bank Account
This is the most common and most reliable method. The process has two steps: first move your Venmo balance to your bank account, then transfer money from your bank account into PayPal. Both steps can be completed within the same day if you use the paid instant options, or within one to four business days on the free standard paths.
Step 1 — Move Your Venmo Balance to Your Bank
Open the Venmo app and navigate to your balance. Tap “Transfer to Bank” and select the bank account you want to receive the funds. You will be offered two options:
• Standard transfer: Free, takes one to three business days to arrive in your bank account.
• Instant transfer: 1.75% fee with a minimum of $0.25 and a maximum of $25, arrives within thirty minutes. Instant transfer requires a linked Visa or Mastercard debit card at your bank.
Select the amount you want to transfer and confirm. For standard transfers, the funds leave Venmo immediately but take one to three business days to clear in your bank account depending on your bank’s processing speed.
Step 2 — Add Funds from Your Bank to PayPal
Once the money has cleared in your bank account, open PayPal and navigate to your wallet. Select “Add Money” and choose the bank account you just received the Venmo transfer into. PayPal will initiate a transfer from your bank to your PayPal balance.
PayPal offers two options for adding money from a bank account. An instant transfer to PayPal balance using a linked debit card carries a 1.5% fee with a minimum of $0.25. A standard bank transfer is free and takes one to three business days. PayPal also has an Instant Transfer to your bank debit card option for sending money out, but for adding money in, the standard bank ACH transfer is the most common method.
How Long the Full Transfer Takes
Using both free standard options, the full Venmo-to-bank-to-PayPal transfer takes two to six business days in total: one to three days for Venmo to your bank and another one to three days for your bank to PayPal. Using instant options at both steps reduces this to under an hour, but the combined fees add up. On a $100 transfer using both instant options, you pay approximately $1.75 on the Venmo side and $1.50 on the PayPal side for a total cost of about $3.25.
Requirements for This Method
• A bank account linked to your Venmo account.
• The same bank account, or a different account at the same bank, linked to your PayPal account.
• A debit card linked to your bank account if you want to use instant transfer on either step.
• Sufficient balance in Venmo to cover the transfer amount.
Method 2: Use a Debit Card Linked to Both Apps
If you have a debit card that is linked to both your Venmo account and your PayPal account, and that debit card is connected to a bank account you control, this method can simplify the process slightly. Rather than thinking of it as two separate transfers, it effectively becomes: withdraw from Venmo to your bank via debit card, and add to PayPal from the same bank via the same debit card.
The outcome and timing are the same as Method 1. The debit card serves as the linkage point between the two apps rather than the bank account routing number directly, but the money still flows through your bank account as the intermediary. Both instant transfer options on each side use the debit card rather than a standard ACH pull, which is what enables faster processing at a fee.
Read: How to Make an International Money Transfer: Easy Steps
Method 3: Ask the Recipient to Use a Different App
This is not always possible, but it is worth raising before going through the bank transfer process. If you are trying to send money to someone who uses PayPal and you use Venmo, the simplest option is to ask them whether they also have a Venmo account, or whether they would be willing to set one up to receive from you directly. Many people have accounts on multiple platforms, and P2P transfers within the same app are instant and free.
Similarly, if you have a PayPal account of your own, you can add money to it through your bank account and then send directly to the recipient’s PayPal from there, skipping the Venmo step entirely. This is faster if the money you want to send is already sitting in your bank account rather than your Venmo balance.
Limitations to Know Before You Start
Processing Times Vary by Bank
The one to three business day timeline for ACH transfers is the standard range but it is not guaranteed. Some banks process ACH credits within the same business day when initiated early in the morning. Others take the full three business days. Weekends and federal holidays do not count as business days and push timelines accordingly. If you initiate a standard transfer on Friday afternoon, the earliest it typically reaches your bank is Monday or Tuesday.
Venmo Transfer Limits
Venmo sets limits on how much you can transfer per week. For users who have completed identity verification, the weekly bank transfer limit is $19,999.99. For unverified users, transfer limits are lower. If you are trying to move a large amount and are hitting a limit, completing Venmo’s identity verification process lifts the ceiling to the higher threshold.
PayPal Account Holds on New Transfers
PayPal sometimes places a temporary hold on newly added funds, particularly for accounts that have not recently received bank transfers or that are flagged by PayPal’s security system. Holds can last one to five business days and prevent you from using the added balance during that time. If your PayPal account has been inactive or if you are adding a new bank account, account a longer timeline than the standard transfer window suggests.
A Faster Alternative: Send to Anyone on Any App
The Venmo-to-PayPal workaround works but it is slow and occasionally costly. The underlying problem it is solving is a cross-platform one: the sender is on one app and the recipient is on another, and getting money between them requires routing through infrastructure neither person controls.
There is a more direct solution for this kind of cross-platform send.
Beem’s send money feature lets you send money for free to anyone on any app, even to people who do not have a bank account. The recipient does not need to be on Beem. They receive a notification and choose how they want to get the money: directly to a debit card, a bank account, a gift card, or a prepaid card. If the person you are trying to pay uses PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, or any other platform, they can receive through whichever method works for them without you needing to know which app they use.
There are no fees for the sender, no subscription required, and no need to coordinate which apps both parties have. For anyone who regularly finds themselves navigating cross-platform payment issues, this removes the friction at the source rather than routing around it through a bank.
When to Use Each Method
Bank transfer method (free, slower): Use this when you have one to four business days before the money is needed and you want to avoid fees. Both Venmo and PayPal must be linked to the same bank account, or accounts at the same bank. Best for planned, non-urgent transfers.
Instant transfer method (fee, same-day): Use this when the money is needed today and the combined 1.75% plus 1.5% fee on the respective transfer amounts is worth paying for the speed. Best for urgent situations where the alternative is a missed payment or a delay with real consequences.
Beem send money (free, cross-platform): Use this when the goal is to get money to someone on a different platform without routing through your bank at all, or when the recipient does not have a bank account. No fee on the sender side and the recipient picks their preferred delivery method.
Check out Beem for on-point financial insights and recommendations to spend, save, plan and protect your money like an expert. Download the Beem app today!
Beem
FAQs: How to Send Money from Venmo to PayPal
Can I transfer Venmo balance directly to PayPal?
No. There is no direct transfer feature between Venmo and PayPal despite both apps being owned by PayPal Holdings. They operate as separate platforms with separate balances. The only way to move money from your Venmo balance to your PayPal balance is by withdrawing from Venmo to a linked bank account and then adding those funds into PayPal from the same bank account. This two-step process takes one to four business days on the free standard path or can be completed in under an hour using paid instant transfers at both steps.
How long does it take to transfer from Venmo to PayPal via bank?
Using both free standard transfers, the complete process takes two to six business days: one to three days for Venmo to transfer to your bank account, plus another one to three days for your bank to fund your PayPal balance. Using paid instant transfer on the Venmo side reduces the first leg to thirty minutes. Using a linked debit card on the PayPal side for an instant add reduces the second leg similarly. With both instant options, the full transfer can complete in under two hours, though combined fees apply to both legs of the transfer.
Does it cost money to transfer from Venmo to PayPal?
The free path has no fees but takes multiple business days. The Venmo standard transfer to a bank account is free. Adding money to PayPal from a bank account via ACH is also free. If you use Venmo’s instant transfer, a 1.75% fee applies with a minimum of $0.25 and a maximum of $25. If you use a debit card to instantly add funds to PayPal, a 1.5% fee applies with a minimum of $0.25. You can use either or both instant options depending on how quickly you need the money to arrive.
Is there an app that lets you send to anyone on any platform?
Yes. Beem’s send money feature lets you send money for free to anyone on any app, including people who do not have a bank account. The recipient chooses how they want to receive: debit card, bank account, gift card, or prepaid card. There are no fees for the sender and no subscription required. This removes the cross-platform coordination problem entirely since neither sender nor recipient needs to be on the same app.
What’s the easiest way to get money to someone who uses PayPal if I use Venmo?
The easiest same-platform option is to ask whether they also have a Venmo account and send directly within Venmo. If that is not possible, the bank-account bridge method is the standard workaround: withdraw from Venmo to your bank, then send from your bank or PayPal balance to their PayPal. The fastest option regardless of platform mismatch is Beem’s send money tool, which lets you send free to any recipient on any app with no coordination required on which platform either party uses.
