Can You Use a Vanilla Gift Card on Venmo? Step-By-Step Guide

If you’re wondering whether you can use a Vanilla gift card on Venmo, you must be in luck. We have the answer here for you and more!

Perhaps you’re a new Venmo user and have wondered if you can use a Vanilla gift card on the payment platform.

With the rising popularity of Vanilla gift cards, that’s not surprising. But don’t worry; we’ve got you covered with the answer!

Yes; you can use a Vanilla gift card on Venmo. The peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platform supports adding Vanilla Gift Card along with other prepaid or gift cards to your account, provided they’re network-branded.

Now that we’ve answered your query, let’s get into the meat of the matter and provide other info you might need about Venmo and Vanilla gift cards.

What Does It Mean to Be Network-Branded?

It means the card must belong to a credit card network such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. Luckily, Vanilla has Visa and Mastercard gift cards.

How to Use a Vanilla Gift Card on Venmo

Using a Vanilla gift card on your Venmo account is quite a piece of cake.

Below is the step-by-step process to use a Vanilla Gift Card to Venmo:

Launch the Venmo app on your mobile phone and log in to your account
Tap the three horizontal menu bar lines on the top of the screen
Select “Settings”
Under “Settings,” find and tap the “Preferences” option
Click on “Payment Methods”
Select the “Add a Bank or Card” option found at the bottom of the menu page
Tap the “Card” option
Type your Vanilla gift card info in the text fields provided. Then, click the camera button to include an image of the card
Enter your zip code if the Vanilla gift card isn’t registered to any home address
Tap the “Add Card” button

After adding a Vanilla gift card to your Venmo account, it’d come up under the “Payment Methods” options as a prepaid card.

So, you can now use it to make a payment directly or send the gift card value to your Venmo balance or bank account.

However, Venmo or the card issuer may decline a transaction you initiate from the card due to insufficient funds, fraud prevention, or other reasons!

Transferring a Vanilla Gift Card Value to Your Venmo Balance

After adding the Vanilla gift card to your Venmo account following the steps above, you may want to transfer the card’s value to your Venmo balance.

Here’s how to go about it:

Tap the “Manage Balance” option and type the amount in the gift card into the text field provided
Tap the “Done” button and confirm your Vanilla gift card transfer to your Venmo balance
Review the info and click the “Add Money” option

After that, the total value of the gift card will reflect in your Venmo balance.

How to Transfer Money From a Vanilla Gift Card to My Bank Account

You can transfer money from your Vanilla gift card to your bank account in pretty easy steps. But first, you have to make sure your bank account is verified.

Here’s how to send money from your card to your bank account:

Tap the “You” tab indicated by the single person icon
Click the “Add or Transfer” button located under your profile photo
Type the amount you want to transfer to your bank in the text field provided
Select “Instant” (small fee) or “1-3 Biz Days” (free)
Select the bank account you want to transfer the funds to
Confirm the transfer details and click the “Transfer” button

It’s essential to know that Venmo is reviewing your transfers before being processed. Hence, you may encounter delays or have your funds locked or removed from your Venmo account.

Can I Use Multiple Vanilla Gift Cards on My Venmo Account?

Unfortunately, you can’t add more than four cards to your Venmo account within a rolling period of six months.

Also, it doesn’t matter whether the card is active or deleted.

For example, when you add up to four cards and delete one or two of them, you can only replace either of them six months after you deleted each. This rule applies to Vanilla gift cards and other debit cards.

Final Thoughts

You can use a Vanilla gift card on your Venmo account. The reason is that the P2P platform supports the use of network-branded cards. These cards are from popular credit card networks such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.

Furthermore, Vanilla gift cards are either Visa or Mastercard. Therefore, Venmo sees them as any other Visa or Mastercard.

You can make a purchase from the gift card or transfer the funds to your Venmo balance or bank account.

Did you find this article helpful? For any queries, Let us know in the comments below and we will try our best to help you out!