Can You Have Venmo Under 18? How to Get a Venmo Card Under 18?

There’s no way for someone under 18 to get a Venmo Debit Card. Individuals under 18 are considered minors. So, as per Venmo’s requirements, you can’t even create a Venmo account unless you’re of the age of majority (normally 18 years old) in your state of residence. 

Getting a Venmo Debit Card can make a lot of things easier for people, old and young alike. But can someone under 18 get it? Continue reading to find out. 

Venmo is one of the most popular mobile payment apps in the United States; it allows users to send and receive money from each other with almost no limitations. 

As such, you might be wondering if someone under 18 can get a Venmo Debit Card, whether as a practice for “adult financing” or just as an easier way of paying for things.

So is it actually possible? 

READ: Do you Have to Be 18 to Use Venmo?

The Benefits of Getting a Venmo Debit Card for Teens

As Venmo is popular and easy to use, it’s often preferable to other more complicated mobile payment apps. 

So it’s only normal for many parents to prefer that their kids carry a Venmo Debit Card, especially for emergencies when money transactions need to go through immediately. 

Other reasons include teaching teenagers real-life finances and introducing them to the responsibility of handling money. Additionally, it can teach them how to save money properly while still enjoying a portion of their allowances or personal funds.

Are There Workarounds?

While we don’t necessarily advise going around Venmo’s terms and conditions, yes, there’s a workaround: you can pass your own Venmo Debit Card to your kid if you feel they’re in dire need of it. 

Basically, you, as the parent or guardian, would create a Venmo account in your own name and be entirely responsible for the card. In other words, the words will be under your name and have your details.

You would then use the card on your guardian’s behalf.

Again, doing this isn’t recommended, especially since the account will have your social security number (SSN) and will link back to you for any activities happening on your account and card.

Why Can’t Minors Get a Venmo Debit Card?

It might not seem like it, but there are many reasons for Venmo to prevent minors from accessing their services, even when it’s the child of such a huge company like PayPal.

Our take, which is founded on the terms and regulations of Venmo, is that the risks of taking this step are more significant than the benefits. 

Since Venmo funds aren’t FDIC-insured, there’s a great risk of scams, especially since minors would probably be new to the whole mobile money app scene. 

Yes, for the bigger transactions, verification is required, but that’s about it. If you have sent the money to your potential seller and you received no product in return, Venmo can do nothing for you.

Hence, it is recommended to always use Venmo with your trusted contacts and sellers if you are buying.

RELATED READ:

• Is Venmo Safe for Buyers? Yes and No, Here’s Why
• Does Venmo Have Buyer Protection?

How to Get A Venmo Debit Card for Adults

If you plan on waiting until your kid is 18 or above, as we recommend, you still need to know how to go about getting them a Venmo Debit Card. So here are the steps of creating a Venmo account and ordering the card.

Setting up a Venmo account:

1. Download the Venmo app and create an account with your details 
2. Link it to your preferred funding method, be it a bank account, a debit card, a credit card, or the Venmo balance itself
3. Link your Facebook account or your contacts to know who’s actively using Venmo and be able to send and receive money from them

Ordering the Venmo Debit Card:

4. From the top left corner of the app’s homepage, press the “more options” icon shaped like three dots 
5. A menu will pop out with the option “Venmo card,” click on that
6. Press the “get the card” option 
7. Venmo will then offer you six different colors for your card; pick your favorite
8. Enter your full name, social security number, and date of birth. Then press “Next”
9. You’ll be asked for your bank accounts details, the one that you wish to use to fund this card when needed
10. Go over all your details one more time and make sure they’re typo-free before you click “submit” 
11. When the card arrives, activate it by scanning the QR code on it or by calling 855-890-6779 

Keep in mind that Venmo states it delivers the cards within eight business days. So if the card doesn’t arrive as soon as you like, you’ll still need to wait for that period to pass before contacting their customer service.

The Future of Venmo for Teens

Will we always have to wait for teens to become at least 18 before they get a chance at managing their finances and taking on this responsibility at an early age? Well, we certainly hope not! 

There have been quite a few rumors that Venmo has been prototyping a teenage card for some time now (since February 2020, to be exact). Yet, unfortunately, we have nothing solid until now, although cash apps have beaten Venmo by light-years in this field.

While some specialize in child finance exclusively, such as Greenlight, others put out the options for parents to supervise and control their children’s savings and spending, such as Current. 

We hope that we’ll see the Venmo teenage card soon, as it’s one of the most used cash apps in the United States today.

Final Thoughts

In simple words, anyone who is under the age of 18 can’t get a Venmo card. Since it’s powered by Mastercard and accepted almost everywhere, Venmo prefers to have only adults controlling these cards and making unlimited transactions using them. 

And although there are ways to work around that, we’d actually recommend adhering to Venmo’s terms and waiting until your kid is of majority age in your state. 

Hopefully, you find this article helpful? Let us know in the comments below!