Does Venmo Work in Canada?
The short answer is no. Venmo is an American payment service founded in 2009 and acquired by PayPal in 2013. Venmo does not support internationally and is only available for US residents. Is Venmo available in Canada? Unfortunately, Venmo does not operate in Canada, but you can use some of the best alternatives.
Why is Venmo so popular?
Venmo is a mobile micro-payment peer-to-peer (p2p) app that makes sending and receiving money from friends and family easy and secure. US residents widely use the Venmo app as a primary payment method by which senders send money, and recipients get funds instantly.
Let’s take a quick look at Venmo’s attractive features and then find out the closet payment options similar to Venmo for Canadians:
- It privileges its users to send funds from a bank account or debit card free of cost.
- Venmo is a fast, convenient, secure, and p2p payment method.
- It charges minimal fees for credit card payments compared to other payment apps like Cash App.
- Venmo users can add a social element to sending and receiving money.
- This app allows you to buy popular cryptocurrencies.
Is Venmo Work in Canada? No, But Here Are 8 Alternatives!
Interac e-Transfer
💲 Transfer cost (International): Up to $100= $0.50 & over $100= $1.00.
⏰ Transfer time: Up to 30 minutes (depending on bank).
One of the popular, convenient, secure, and fastest way to send and receive money in Canada is by Interac e-Transfer, just like Venmo. This payment method was first introduced to the public in 2003 and is considered one of the first peer-to-peer (p2p) modes of payment. You can use Interac e-Transfer to send and receive money in minutes within Canada. However, you cannot use e-Transfer outside Canada.
Key Features of Interac e-Transfer:
- Users can send and receive money 24/7 from anywhere.
- Interac e-Transfer makes the payment process fast and easy.
- It is secured by multi-factor authentication, encryption, and fraud detection.
- As compared to banks, Interac e-Transfer is often less expensive.
Wealthsimple Cash
💲 Transfer cost (International): They don’t charge a foreign transaction (FX) fee.
⏰ Transfer time: Typically, 10 business days.
Wealthsimple Cash is a famous Canadian fintech firm founded in 2014 and is widely used by Canadians to send and receive money within Canada, similar to the Venmo app. Wealthsimple cash app allows users to send or receive money from friends or family in seconds without requiring security questions and paying fees.
Key Features of Wealthsimple Cash:
- You can send and receive money in minutes.
- Deposit up to $500 with a single deposit instantly using your Visa Debit card.
- There are no fees for sending or receiving money.
- Available for iOS and
- Bank Account limit: $5,000 per day to a maximum of $10,000 per week or $20,000 per month.
Simplii Financial
💲 Transfer cost (International): No transfer fees globally.
⏰ Transfer time: As little as 30 minutes.
Simplii Financial provides Canadians convenient, low-cost, and 24/7 banking experience. It mainly offers banking services like money transfers, credit cards, loans, mortgages, and investment accounts- all with no-fee structures. The owner of Simplii Financial is The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Unlike Venmo, you can send and receive money internationally without transfer fees.
Key Features of Simplii Financial:
- No transfer fees or deductions.
- 1 to 3 business days to send funds.
- Send up to $30,000
- 130+ countries
- Safe and Secure.
- Online tracking using the Simplii mobile app.
PayPal
💲 Transfer cost (International): For a $100 transaction will be $3.98.
⏰ Transfer time: 1 business day (depending on your bank’s clearing process).
Everybody knew about PayPal, a giant of digital payments that offers to send and receive money at low cost, shop online, and manage finances. PayPal was founded in 1998 and has accumulated over 429 million around the globe. In Canada itself, there are approx.—6.4 million active PayPal users. Walmart, Roots, Canada Goose, and Mary Young are some popular online retailers in Canada that accept the PayPal payment method.
Key Features of PayPal:
- Use PayPal to send and receive domestic and international payments at low cost.
- Access credit and cash back.
- Buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
- Get linked cards for spending and withdrawal.
- Shop online with buyer protections in place.
- Fast transfers to other PayPal users.
OFX
💲 Transfer cost (International): CAD 15 under CAD 10,000 & more than CAD 10,000, its free.
⏰ Transfer time: 1-4 business days.
OFX offers international money transfer and foreign exchange services catering to individuals and businesses. OFX supports over 50 currencies across more than 170 countries, including Canada. OFX is not a bank licensed by financial regulations in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Individuals and businesses can make payments 24/7 without paying any upfront fee for money transfers.
Key Features of OFX:
- No need to pay an upfront transfer fee.
- Support 24/7 international money transfers for individuals and businesses worldwide.
- 50+ currencies across more than 170 countries including Canada.
- Currency risk management solutions for businesses and individuals.
- FinCEN is registered in the US and safe to use.
- Publicly listed company in Australia, overseen by 50+global regulatory bodies.
KOHO
💲 Transfer cost (International): There are no foreign transaction fees.
⏰ Transfer time: 1-3 business days.
KOHO Financial Inc. is a Canadian fintech company founded in Toronto in 2014. While KOHO is not a bank, it caters to providing a modern, no-fee, and user-friendly banking experience with hassle-free services. KOHO’s mobile app allows users to budget, save easily, and check spending. Instead of it, KOHO also offers prepaid Visa cards and 24/7 available money transactions worldwide from Canada at a low fee.
Key Features of KOHO:
- It costs about zero dollars monthly (except for the premium card).
- The application process is fast and easy.
- Ability to track and budget your savings through the mobile app.
- Early payroll could come in handy.
- There is no transaction fee (except for foreign transactions).
Skrill
💲 Transfer cost (International): Debit card and bank transfer is free.
⏰ Transfer time: Within 24 – 72 hours.
Skrill is the option if you are looking for an e-wallet payment method mix with convenience, fastness, and security. Skrill is a digital wallet that lets its users send money domestically and internationally without a transfer fee. Skrill’s users can either directly credit money to their bank account or hold it in a third-party mobile wallet within its app. This app delivers various financial services like international money transfers from Canada, online payments, and the ability to hold multiple currencies within your Skrill wallet.
Key Features of Skrill:
- Skrill operates in 200 countries and supports 40 different currencies.
- Available for both individuals and businesses.
- There is no fixed transfer fee when you send money directly to a bank account.
- Easily send money using the recipient’s email address or phone number linked to a bank account.
- Buy and sell cryptocurrency.
- Modern and User-friendly Skrill mobile app.
Wise
💲 Transfer cost (International): Free from wise account to another. For major currencies this is from 0.41% of the transfer value.
⏰ Transfer time: Maximum of 2 working days.
Wise (formerly known as TransferWise) is a UK-based foreign exchange financial technology company founded in 2011—Wise claims to make all international money transfers easier, faster, and cheaper. Fifteen million customers, including Canada trust wise, and till now sends approximately 11 billion dollars a month to 70+ countries worldwide. It is available for individuals and businesses and enables them to send, spend, receive, hold, and exchange money in 50+ currencies.
Key Features of Wise:
- Open a multi-currency account to hold and exchange 50+ currencies.
- Send payments internationally to 70+ countries with low and transparent fees.
- Transparent pricing– all costs are clearly shown before you confirm any transaction.
- A modern approach to moving money internationally– Wise has its payment network to improve delivery speed and cut costs.
- Receive payments like a local in 10 currencies, including GBP, CAD, AUD, EUR and USD.
Venmo alternatives conclusion
Practically, Venmo is not working in Canada- even if you already have a Venmo account. Venmo is only available for US residents, and you can only use it within the United States to make USD payments.
Instead of Venmo, there are plenty of Venmo alternatives that you can use in Canada. Many of the remittance services we have shown you, such as Venmo alternatives in Canada, offer other benefits too that help you with budgeting and finance management, even saving you banking fees. Compare them all and find out which one works best for you.
Want to borrow money on weekends? CashPlanet offer weekend loans in Canada that funded in 5 minutes via e-transfer.
