Venmo is a peer-to-peer mobile payment app that makes transactions fun and stress-free.
With Venmo, splitting your bills instantly with friends and family has never been easier, and Venmo’s mission is to help you achieve just that.
Venmo is so popular in the US that it’s used as a verb- an action word for sending money. I will Venmo you the money, they say.
Is Venmo Available in Canada?
No, Venmo is not available in Canada at this time. To be eligible to use Venmo, you must be a resident of the United States, have a US mobile number, and be 18+.
Thankfully, we have our own Venmo Canada equivalent, and as you continue reading, you will find out these alternatives to Venmo in Canada.
Venmo Canada’s Top 3 Recommended Alternatives
- Best Cash App Alternative For Canadians
- No Fees
- 2 Factor Authentication Security
- CDIC Balance Protection
- Prepaid Cash Card
- Offers Local Money Transfers with Cashbacks
- No Fees
- Lots of Perks and Cashback
- Free, fast, and easy to use
- Has a prepaid Visa card and a mobile app.
- Best for International Money Transfers
- No Fees
- Cashbacks
- Send money to your loved ones in 130+ countries
- Welcome Bonus: Use Promo Code GMTEVENT
Before comprehensively listing and exploring the alternatives to Venmo in Canada, it is important to know how the best of them compare when placed side by side. The table below should help us do that.
What is Venmo and How Does It Work?
Venmo is a US-based peer-to-peer mobile app launched in 2019 by PayPal- one of the world’s leading digital payment platforms.
Venmo is incredibly friendly to use and great for sending and receiving money. It’s also used for in-app or online purchases and cryptocurrency trade.
Even though there are many peer-to-peer mobile payment platforms that can accept payments from your friends and family, Venmo stands out.
This is because, in addition to allowing you to pay for online or in-store purchases, it also allows you split bills with your friends and family. Now, how cool is that?
Venmo offers many free offers on opening accounts, sending and receiving money, and withdrawals. It also allows you to handle your money the way you like through direct deposits and credit cards.
Once your bank account or credit card is linked to the app, you can immediately transfer funds to your Venmo account.
That said, Venmo has three funding options as follows:
- Credit card
- Bank account
- Venmo balance
- Money request
To Venmo someone or split your bills on Venmo, you need to add a recipient, amount, and a note.
After making a transaction, it will be displayed on Venmo social feeds to your friends or the public. However, you can make your transaction history private.
The following are the key features that make Venmo stand out amongst its peers:
- Online Purchase: You can make in-app and in-store purchases on Venmo with no charges.
- Cryptocurrency Trading: You can trade Bitcoin, bitcoin cash, Litecoin, or Ethereum on Venmo for as low as $1.
- Direct Deposit: You can link your bank account to Venmo to add funds automatically and set up your paycheck.
- Credit Cards: You can earn cashback rewards using a Venmo credit card. Using a QR code, you can also make quick transactions with a credit card.
- Social Feeds: Venmo social feeds display your transactions to those you want, such as the public or friends. But you can choose to have your transactions private.
- Fees: Venmo is very affordable and mostly free, and here is a short summary of their charges:
- Free registration.
- $0 fee for sending money via a linked bank account.
- $3 for sending money via a linked credit card.
- Free charges on receiving money from Venmo users.
- Free electronic withdrawals.
- $0 monthly and annual fees.
- $0 for online purchases
6 Apps Like Venmo in Canada
While there’s no Venmo Canada, there are Venmo alternatives in Canada. Here are the top mobile money transfer apps in Canada for domestic and international money transfers:
1. Wealthsimple Cash – Best Venmo Alternative in Canada
Wealthsimple Cash is a free money transfer and payment app owned by Wealthsimple. It is fast, easy to use, and has an easily navigable interface and a mobile-friendly investing dashboard.
Also, the app allows you to make online purchases with no minimum account balance requirement; it accepts several payment options, including bank transfers and debit cards.
Further, like Venmo, you can trade cryptocurrencies through Wealthsimple Crypto and even trade thousands of stocks through Wealthsimple Trade.
Key Features:
Pricing and Fees: Money transfer is completely free and instant, with no monthly account fees and no deposit and withdrawal fees.
Security and Balance Protection: It is a secure platform with 2-factor authentication, and your balance is CDIC insured up to $100,000.
Wealthsimple Cash Card: Using this prepaid card, you can pay for purchases and spend funds directly from your Wealthsimple account.
- You get access to dividend reinvesting services
- There is no minimum deposit
- It’s easy to setup
- Low fees
- They provide an automatic rebalancing feature that helps to monitor market changes
- The UX is positive because of the ease and efficiency of using their website and app
- They may cover administrative transfer fees if your investments are worth more than $5,000
- Portfolio options are limited
- They have a tax optimization feature
- If you don’t have at least $100,000 in your Wealthsimple account, you can’t get access to human advisors
- No Wealthsimple physical branches exist
2. KOHO – Offers Local Money Transfers with Cashbacks
KOHO is a savings account with a prepaid Visa card and a mobile app. KOHO helps you send money from your phone to any Canadian bank account free of charge. KOHO gives you a lot of cashback as perks and helps you build your credit.
With KOHO, you can earn 0.50% cash back on all purchases when you make payments with the KOHO Prepaid Visa Card. You may even earn 2% cashback If you upgrade to KOHO Premium or 5% cashback when you shop at select KOHO partner stores.
KOHO is free, fast, and easy to use. With it, you’ll be able to budget, spend, and save simultaneously.
- You can have joint accounts
- There is no annual fee for the basic account
- You won’t pay NSF fees
- On purchases, you 0.5% cash-back
- Their app has a budget tracking feature
- No minimum balance
- They are Apple Pay and PayPal compatible
- You can’t have RRSP, RESP, or TFSA accounts
- Their limits on withdrawal and purchases are relatively low
- Foreign currency transactions draw a 1.5% fee (except for of Premium users)
- Building a credit score is not possible without their KOHO Credit Builder program which costs $7
3. Interac e-Transfer
Interac e-Transfer is one of Canada’s most popular mobile payment options.
With your bank account, you can make money transfers with Interac using your online banking or banking app.
Furthermore, Interac gives you the flexibility of money transfer using an email or phone number to any bank account in Canada.
Moreover, Interac may be free for you to use, depending on your account type. For instance, you can send and receive money for free if you have an EQ Bank account.
For sure, Interac is a strong and perhaps the most popular Venmo Canada alternative for Canadians in 2022.
4. Simplii GMT
- Best for International Money Transfers
- No Fees, Lots of Cashbacks
- Send money to your loved ones in 130+ countries
- Welcome Bonus: Use Promo Code GMTEVENT
SimpliiTM Global Money Transfer (GMT) is one of the most affordable ways to send money around the world, with transactions completed in one to three days and no fees or charges. It’s dedicated to providing you with secure, easy-to-use, and efficient solutions to your international money transfer needs.
You can send payments in just a few minutes through their online service or app. Simplii GMT is available in over 130 countries worldwide, and you can earn 0.5% cashback when using your Simplii Cash Back Visa Card. They also have a feature that helps you track your transfers.
How to Sign Up and Use Simplii GMT
- Visit the Simplii website and click on “Join Simplii” to become a client
- Follow the instructions on the site and sign-up
- After successfully signing up, sign in on the app or web page, then select “Global Money Transfer.”
- Pick the currency, individual, and country you want to send money to
- Fill in how much you want to transfer in Canadian dollars (CAD)
- Don’t forget to enter the promo code GMTEVENT (this is for first-time users only)
- Complete the transfer
5. Wise (Formerly TransferWise)
This is another low-cost alternative to Venmo that you can use to send and receive money in Canada.
This mobile money transfer service is available in more than 70 countries with more than 10 million.
With Wise, you can convert and hold up to 54 currencies without charges.
6. World Remit
World Remit is another excellent alternative to Venmo in Canada, enabling international transactions in 150 countries. This mobile money transfer app does not have a minimum transfer amount and offers various transfer methods, including bank transfer, mobile money, and cash pickup.
Final Thoughts on Venmo Canada
The absence of Venmo Canada is not the end of the world, considering the availability of several mobile money transfer apps in the country.
Mobile money transfer apps such as Interac e-Transfer, Wealthsimple Cash, Wise, and PayPal are cost-effective for making domestic and international money transfers in Canada.
Related: Cash App Canada
FAQs on Venmo Canada
Can Americans Living in Canada Use Venmo?
Americans living in Canada can’t also use Venmo in the country. This is because Venmo requires the sender and receiver to be physically in the US.
Does Venmo Work in Canada?
No! Venmo does not work in Canada in the sense that you can’t use it to send or receive money while in Canada.
Is there Venmo Canada to the US?
There’s no Venmo Canada to the US because you can’t use the app to send or receive money from Canada.
Similarly, you can’t use the Venmo app to make in-app/online purchases or trade cryptocurrencies while in Canada.
Why is Venmo Not Yet in Canada?
Venmo has not issued any official statement on why it’s not available in Canada. However, it’s obvious to see why Venmo is not in Canada at the moment.
The app is designed to serve only the US market at the moment as it requires both senders and receivers to be physically in the US to execute transactions.
When Will Venmo Canada Launch?
There’s no official statement from Venmo on when it will be available in Canada. Also, due to tight domestic regulations and banking policies, Venmo may find accessing the Canadian transfer market challenging.
However, we can only cross arms and anticipate the coming of Venmo in Canada. But for now, Canadians can do well with similar mobile transfer apps in Canada, which I shall discuss shortly.
What is the Canadian Version of Venmo?
Wealthsimple Cash, Interac, and KOHO are Canada’s versions of Venmo. Like Venmo, Wealthsimple Cash is a peer-to-peer mobile payment app with social features, allowing you to send money to friends and family quickly.
Hi, I'm Adeola Adegoke. I am a licensed Insurance Broker in Manitoba, and I hold a master’s degree in Mathematical Sciences (with a major in Financial Modeling) from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Tanzania.
Also, I have a second master's degree in Statistics from the University of Regina, and I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Statistics at the University of Manitoba.
The primary purpose of Money Reverie is to help everyday Canadians make better financial decisions by providing up-to-date financial news and information, reports, product reviews, and government programs.
