Is It Possible to Transfer Your Venmo Balance to a Prepaid Card?
No, you cannot transfer Your Venmo Balance to a Prepaid Card. Unlike debit cards, your prepaid card isn’t linked to a bank account, which makes it impossible to wire money back to it.
In general, prepaid cards can be recharged through ATMs, authorized retailers, or mobile check deposits using your phone.
However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use your prepaid card on Venmo at all! Linking a prepaid card to your Venmo account is a convenient way of replenishing your Venmo credit without tapping into your bank account or exceeding your credit card limit.
RELATED READ: How Long Do Venmo Transactions Take?
How to Add a Prepaid Card to Venmo?
Adding a prepaid or gift card as your preferred payment method on Venmo is very simple. Just take a look at the next few steps.
- Open the Venmo application on your iOS or Android device.
- Tap on the three horizontal lines (hamburger icon) on the top left corner.
- Navigate to “Settings,” then scroll down to “Payment Methods” in the “Preferences” section of the menu.
- When prompted, choose “Add bank or card” and tap “Card.”
- Enter your card’s details or take a photo of it to allow the app to fill in the fields for you.
- Insert your zip code, press “Add,” and you’re done!
Why Does Venmo Display an Error Message When I Add a Prepaid Card?
According to the information provided on Venmo’s website, Venmo accepts prepaid cards issued by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. So, if you have a prepaid or gift card issued by a different supplier, it won’t work on Venmo.
Another reason why your prepaid card might’ve been declined is that you haven’t entered a valid zip code. If the problem persists and you’re sure you’ve added the card’s information correctly, you can reach out to Venmo’s customer support via live chat or by phone: 1 (855) 812-4430.
How to Use a Prepaid Card for Purchases/Transfers on Venmo
If you want to use Venmo to make purchases or transfer money and you’ve already added a prepaid card to your account, follow these instructions.
1. Send Money
- Launch Venmo and navigate to the payment page by selecting the “pen and check” icon on the top right corner of the home screen.
- Add the recipient’s name, username, phone, or email. You can select the “Scan Code” option if your friend is nearby to add them quickly as well.
- Insert the amount you want to transfer and add a short description clarifying the purpose of the transaction.
- Change the transaction’s privacy settings to control who sees your transfer. You can choose from “Public,” “Friends,” or “Private.”
- Tap “Pay” and make sure that your prepaid card is highlighted as the payment method. Press ”Pay” again, and voila! The money will be withdrawn from the card and sent to the recipient’s balance.
2. Complete Purchases
You can use Venmo to cover purchases in both online and brick-and-mortar stores that support this payment method. If you’re shopping at a retailer, you can scan a QR code during checkout to complete the payment. However, if you want to leverage Venmo to shop in online stores, you’ll need to do the following:
- Open your Venmo app and press the hamburger icon on the top left.
- Tap “Settings” and scroll to the “Buying” section.
- Choose “Enable Mobile Web Purchases” and select “Next” when prompted.
- Your default browser will be launched automatically. You can go back to the previous menu now and tap “Connect Browser.”
Now, you can use Venmo as a payment option when shopping in supported online stores, including UberEats, Hulu, and Abercrombie & Fitch. Your transaction will be redirected to Venmo when you purchase goods using the default browser that you’ve linked to your Venmo app.
How to Cash Out Your Venmo Balance
As we’ve previously mentioned, it’s not possible to send money from your Venmo balance directly to your prepaid card. That said, you can always transfer funds from your Venmo credit to your bank account then deposit the money into your prepaid card manually through an ATM. Here’s how:
- Make sure you’ve added and verified a bank account.
- Tap the single-person icon on Venmo’s homepage to select “Manage Balance” then “Transfer to Bank.”
- Specify the amount you want to cash out, press “Next,” and ensure that the right bank account is selected.
- Choose between an instant and a standard transfer. If you choose to initiate an instant transfer, you’ll be charged a 1% fee (max $10).
- Tap “Transfer” to finalize the process.
Bottom Line
Prepaid cards are a great way to transfer money to friends or make payments using Venmo.
However, you need to link a bank account to your Venmo as a backup payment method if you’re planning to cash out your balance since it’s impossible to transfer money from Venmo to a prepaid card.
Despite this, we encourage you to add a prepaid or gift card to Venmo, as you won’t be charged any fee when completing transactions, as opposed to credit cards which incur a 3% fee on each payment.
Did you find this article helpful? For any problems, Let us know in the comments below and we will try our best to help you out!
