Can Venmo Transfer Money Internationally

Compare Venmo Alternatives

Monito's comparison engine is trusted by 6 million users every year
Monito users have saved nearly $40 million in fees to date!
We only recommend regulated and secure companies.

As featured on

Can You Use Venmo Internationally? Unfortunately Not. Find Venmo Alternatives Instead

Aug 2, 2021

Every Venmo that's processed transfer requires both the sender and beneficiary to be physically in the US, meaning it's not possible to use Venmo internationally to send money to a friend or family abroad. Despite its proximity, this includes Canada too, meaning it won't be possible to use Venmo to send money to a friend across the border in Canada.

While this may sound like bad news if you'd like to use Venmo internationally; fortunately, it isn't! In reality, there are plenty of alternatives to consider to send money abroad hassle-free and with low fees. Compare money transfer services on Monito's real-time comparison engine to find the best alternative to Venmo and the cheapest ways to send money internationally.

Can You Use Venmo Internationally?

Before we get started, let's address the obvious question — can you use Venmo internationally, and can it be used to send money abroad from the US to countries overseas?

The short answer is no. Venmo is not international, and the app is only available to US residents. To use Venmo in the first place — let alone send and receive money via online banking — both the sender and the recipient must have US bank accounts and, in some circumstances, Social Security Numbers too. That said, Venmo is licensed in some US territories, specifically in the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam. However, Venmo isn't available in American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Why You Can't Use Venmo Internationally

Digital wallets have changed the way we pay for things on the internet and send money to our friends and family. Specialized companies such as PayPal, Square Cash, Venmo or tech giants such as Google (with Google Wallet), Apple (with Apple Pay) and Facebook (through Messenger), have revolutionized peer-to-peer payments, from the way we pay back a friend for a loan to how we split the bill at the end of a meal.

However, these solutions are designed for local peer-to-peer payments in a single currency, generally to avoid the expensive complexities of currency exchange, cross-border payments, and increased anti-money laundering (ALM) and know your customer (KYC) regulations. As a result, savvy solutions such as Venmo dodge this space entirely and don't offer international transfers to their users.

Is Venmo Available in Canada?

No, Venmo is not available in Canada, sadly. This means that you won't be able to send money from your Venmo account to a friend in Canada. Your friends from Canada won't be able to Venmo you either.

That's a bummer, but alternatives exist.

Check out Monito's comparison if you're looking to send money from the US to Canada or from Canada to the US to find a cheap alternative for your USD<>CAD transfers.

If you're looking for an alternative to Venmo to send money within Canada with your friends, we have two Venmo alternatives to recommend:

Interac: Canadian banks have partnered to offer an inter-operatable way to send or receive money from almost anyone in Canada with a mobile:
Wealth Simple Cash App: By opening an account with Wealth Simple Cash App, you can split bills & send cash to your friends.

Is Venmo available in the USA?

Yes, Venmo is available in the USA. If you're looking for a Venmo alternative in the US, you can check out:

Square's Cash App
Zelle: the rival made by US Banks

On the other hand, if you're sending money in or out of Mexico, we recommend running a search on Monito's comparison engine instead.

Venmo Alternatives

Because you can't use Venmo internationally, you'll probably be wondering what the best alternative to Venmo is to suit your needs and preferences. Fortunately, looking for Venmo alternatives is easier than ever, and you'll be spoilt for choice among the many competitive options out there.

Broadly speaking, you have two routes to send money internationally instead of Venmo: using an international money transfer specialist or using PayPal or your bank.

International Transfer Specialists

The first option is finding the best among dozens of innovative companies that are doing what Venmo does locally in the US, but for international transfers. They offer bank-beating exchange rates, low fees, and a top-notch user experience using their online platforms or mobile apps. Depending on where you want to send money to, companies like Wise, Remitly or Skrill will probably be your top choice.

1 — Wise

London-based fintech Wise is a world-class option for sending money internationally and frequently ranks as the cheapest way to transfer money internationally on Monito. According to the Monito Score, Wise is also ranked as the best money transfer service of all, and its mobile app is ranked the best money transfer app.

9.5

Monito score

Go to Wise

Cost: Wise charges a mix of fixed fees and commissions for different corridors, which usually constitute between 0.25% and 1.00% of the total transfer value. Wise was the cheapest service on 21% of global comparisons on Monito between July 2020 and 2021.

Recommendation: We recommend Wise especially for small- to medium-sized bank transfers (up to US$10,000.00) destined for international bank accounts, as the platform is particularly well-priced for these transfers.

More info:See our full Wise review.

2 — Remitly

Remitly is a US-based digital remittance service that's frequently the fastest and cheapest way to send money internationally on Monito. The platform offers various pay-in and pay-out options (including card payments, bank transfers, and cash services) and supports money transfers to over 85 countries worldwide.

9.0

Monito score

Go to Remitly

Cost: Remitly's fees are built into the exchange rate and typically range between 0.50% and 2.00% of the international money transfer value, depending on the currencies in question. Remitly was the cheapest service on 20% of global comparisons on Monito between July 2020 and 2021.

Recommendation: Because of its speed and pricing for cash-related transfers in particular, we recommend Remitly for sending money for cash pick-up and cash home delivery services.

More info: See our full Remitly review.

3 — Paysend

A true specialist in international card payments, Paysend is a flexible and fast-growing money transfer platform that supports credit and debit card payments to an impressive network of nearly 100 receiving countries through various pay-out options.

8.9

Monito score

Cost: Paysend charges a fixed fee for most card-to-card and card-to-Paysend-wallet transfers and an exchange rate margin of between 0.50% and 2.00% of the international money transfer value. Paysend was the cheapest service on roughly 25% of global comparisons on Monito in May 2021.

Recommendation: We recommend Paysend for international card payments to credit cards, debit cards, or bank accounts due to its excellent fees and exchange rates for these types of transfers.

More info: See our full Paysend review.

4 — WorldRemit

WorldRemit is a UK-based online remittance provider that offers the best way to transfer money internationally to diverse regions globally, including Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America — often offering the cheapest way to send money internationally to these countries.

7.8

Monito score

Cost: WorldRemit's fees vary significantly from transfer to transfer and generally constitute anywhere between 1.00% and 2.50% of the international money transfer value. WorldRemit was the cheapest service on 9% of global comparisons on Monito between July 2020 and 2021.

Recommendation: We recommend WorldRemit for mobile money transfers due to its industry-leading coverage among mobile wallets. These include Vodafone M-PESA, MTN Mobile Money, Airtel, Globe Cash, Tigo, and many others.

More info: See our full WorldRemit review.

Why Banks and PayPal Are Poor Venmo Alternatives

Your first intuition may be to use your bank or Paypal to send money to a friend or family member abroad. Not only would these options be less convenient, but this would also cost you a lot of money as banks usually give you a poor exchange rate (on top of charging you fees for international transfers).

Monito's research has found that sending $1,000.00 to a Eurozone country with Wells Fargo would cost $30.00 in fees and $50.00 in exchange rate margin fees. These fees amount to around 8.00% of the amount transferred, which is about 10 times more than the cheapest available service compared on Monito for a similar transfer.

For this reason, we recommend comparing the top money services on Monito to save up to 95% in fees compared to the bank for wire transfers from the US:

Compare Top Venmo Alternatives

Frequently Asked Questions About Using Venmo Internationally

Does Venmo work internationally?

No, Venmo is only available for US residents sending money to other US residents in US Dollars. Use Monito's real-time comparison engine to compare and find cheap alternative services to send money abroad.
Does Venmo work in Canada?

No, Venmo only work in the USA. You can find ways to send money to Canada from the USA here.
What's the best alternative to Venmo?

There are plenty of good options, as fancy and user friendly as Venmo, to send money abroad with a mobile phone. Use Monito's real-time comparison engine to compare and find cheap alternative services to send money abroad.
Does Venmo work in Mexico?

No, Venmo is only available for US residents sending money to other US residents in US Dollars. You won't be able to use Venmo to send money to someone in Mexico from the US. But the good news is that there are dozens of good digital services for money transfers to Mexico that you can compare on Monito.
Does Venmo work in other contries?

No, Venmo is only available in the US for US residents.
Does Venmo work in Nigeria?

No, Venmo only work in the USA and for US residents. You can find and compare money transfer services from the US to Nigeria here.
Does Venmo work in France?

No, Venmo only work in the USA and for US residents. You can find and compare money transfer services from the US to France here.
Is Venmo available in Mexico?
No, Venmo is not available in Mexico. If you live in Mexico and are sending money to someone in Mexico:
- Payit offers a mobile wallet to send money to friends and family in Mexico.
On the other hand, if you're sending money in or out of Mexico, we recommend running a search on Monito's comparison engine instead.
Is Venmo available in France?
No, Venmo is not available in France. If you live in France and are sending money to someone in France:
- Lydia, Paylib, Pumpkin let you send money to any phone number or email address.
On the other hand, if you're sending money in or out of France, we recommend running a search on Monito's comparison engine instead.
Is Venmo available in the UK?
No, Venmo is not available in the UK. If you live in the UK and are sending money to someone in the UK:
- Square's Cash App is a good alternative to Venmo in the UK
- But dozens of other innovative mobile peer-to-peer transfer options exist, like Revolut, N26, Monese, Monzo etc.
- UK's banks have also created their own system pay-m that enables to send money to a mobile phone number. Barclays' Pingit is quite popular.
On the other hand, if you're sending money in or out of the UK, we recommend running a search on Monito's comparison engine instead.
Is Venmo available in Australia?
No, Venmo is not available in Australia. If you live in Australia and are sending money to someone in Australia:
- Beem it is a great mobile app to pay friends, request money or split bills. It's owned by Westpac, NAB, and CBA.
On the other hand, if you're sending money in or out of Australia, we recommend running a search on Monito's comparison engine instead.

See Our In-Depth Money Transfer Guides

Send money from Australia to Nepal
Send money from Canada to Nepal
Send money from Canada to India
Send money from Germany to India
Send money from UK to Pakistan
Send money from Germany to Canada
Send money from Germany to Mexico
Send money from the USA to Mexico
Send money from the USA to Chile