I just looked into this, and Venmo only charges you the 1.9% if you have activated a "business profile" with them. The business profile apparently gives you some little perks like the ability to get tips and statements, but it's not necessary to receive payments. I just confirmed this with some test payments between me and my wife.
This is analogous to PayPal charging you a fee when your receive a payment for "goods and services," but charging no fee when when the payment is sent "as a friend". I've never paid that fee because everybody knows it's there and nobody wants to make their nice piano tuner pay an extra fee for no reason when I'm literally standing right in front of them. I don't even have to ask. Avoiding the Venmo fee should be as simple as deleting or deactivating your business profile.
I personally prefer Venmo over Zelle. With Zelle you're always worried that you're going to mistype the phone number or email address and accidentally send it to the wrong person. And there seems to often be a lag in the payment going through. Sometimes minutes. Venmo always beeps my phone within a few seconds of them sending payment. And Venmo's method of one person scanning the QR code on the other person's phone is so slick. There's zero worry about sending it to the wrong person with that. They scan your phone and your name and picture pops up on their screen. It couldn't be any more clear.
So I plan to continue using Venmo when people want to pay with it. It's still the most convenient way for some customers to pay, and there's no reason not to accept it.
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Anthony Willey, RPT
http://willeypianotuning.comhttp://pianometer.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-21-2021 01:05
From: David Trasoff
Subject: Venmo
The Cash app functions over mobile phones similarly to Venmo but charges NO fees to send or receive money from a linked bank account, and has NO social network crap. It's also independent of the big banks (Zelle is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo).
Sent from my iPhone
Original Message:
Sent: 7/20/2021 10:59:00 PM
From: Karl Roeder
Subject: RE: Venmo
I agree with Mr. Servinsky. I've been using Zelle for more than a year now with no problems. It gives me an option for accepting payments from the digital native generation without giving the banks 2 to 4 % of my revenue. Besides, after I watched some younger cousins cyber-stalking a few of their friends on Venmo I foreswore ever using it.
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Karl Roeder
Pompano Beach FL
Original Message:
Sent: 07-19-2021 22:49
From: David Love
Subject: Venmo
Just a note to remind that Venmo claims they will start charging 1.9% for payments (received) as of July 20th.
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David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
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