Venmo Adds Cash a Check Feature For Select Customers

Venmo is a banking and peer-to-peer payment app owned by PayPal. It is now launching a check cashing feature for both its Android and iOS apps for some users in the US. Venmo Cash a Check will allow users to snap a photo of a check and deposit it directly into a Venmo account.

Venmo’s new check capturing feature will allow you to quickly and seamlessly cash checks straight from the Venmo app, without needing to visit a bank or physical check-cashing location, the company says in its blog post. The review process that makes the funds available should only take a few seconds, but in some cases may take up to an hour. If the check is approved, the money will be transferred to a Venmo account in minutes.

But the new tool will also come with fees. Venmo is waiving the fees for deposits of stimulus checks for a limited time. After that, it will charge a 5% cashing fee for hand-signed payroll and government checks for a minimum fee of $5 and 1% on payroll or government checks with pre-printed signatures.

Venmo customers must have either a Venmo debit card or direct deposit active on their account, as well as a verified email address in order to use the ‘Cash a Check’ feature. The feature will also require location services to be active. Venmo has partnered with First Century Bank and Ingo Money for the service.

To see if you’re eligible and to access the new Venmo Cash a Check feature, download the latest version of the Venmo app on iOS or Android and make sure you’re running the latest operating system on your mobile device. However, you should not be paying to cash check. So look into other baking apps or even regular banks that provide free checking accounts. Or even better, get a bonus as well for opening a new bank account.