Choose the one that fits you best

Venmo vs Zelle vs Cash App: pros & cons. Source: shutterstock.com

Cashless payments are firmly entrenched in the lives of multiple people worldwide. Consumers appreciate the convenience and speed of new technologies, while tech giants and financial firms continue to improve existing solutions and develop new ones as well.

Mobile payment is quite a popular option today. The idea of handling payments with just a mobile phone is not that new. However, today we can observe the peak of popularity of this technology. It would be wrong to call this situation an unfavorable phenomenon since it is not. Nevertheless, we all know an old principle called “demand creates supply” (yes, we know that this issue is a controversial one, and still discussions are underway). And this is where this rule has worked out more than ever. The demand for handy options has generated supply in the form of different mobile payment services. Most of them are not that bad, but before choosing one, you should consider carefully all the pros and cons.

Today, PaySpace Magazine offers you to consider the overview of three relatively early, time-tested, good old (if may say so) Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App.

Venmo

This mobile payment service is owned by PayPal, and it is considered to be the most popular P2P transfer app worldwide. This app is primarily aimed at young people. “Just Venmo me” or “I’ll Venmo you later” have become popular slogans nowadays.

Venmo has a virtual bank account as well. If you receive a payment, it goes to your account first, and it doesn’t go right to your bank account. Then, you have an option to transfer money from the Venmo Balance to your bank account.

Therefore, Venmo eliminates the need for splitting the bill or reimbursing cash in order to pay for something together (roommate expenses, for instance).

Pros

• It is easy to get started – set up an account and use it right away
• If you need to send money you need to know just the recipient’s email phone number
• Has a social component. Users can view a “feed” of friends’ transactions and like or comment on them (note or emoji are also available)
• No fees (only for a debit card)
• It is not tied to a specific financial institution. Anybody who owns a cell phone can download it

Cons

• A transaction usually takes days to process
• You pay a 3% fee if you use a credit card
• You can’t cancel a transaction. Thus, it will be no way to cancel a payment if you send it to a wrong recipient
• If you need to cash out funds from your Venmo account (all payments go straight to your account), it would take from one to three days to process your request

Zelle

Zelle offers instant same-day transfers, so you can pay from your bank. Users can send money even without the app on their smart devices. But there is also an option to download an app and tie it to a bank account.

You can send without installing the app on your phone, though you can download Zelle’s app and connect to your bank account, too.

Zelle primarily aims to outdo other market leaders using their weak points, such as non-instant transfers, poor security, and the absence of an independent app.

Pros

• Instant transactions
• The Zelle app is already a feature within existing bank apps.
• If you need to send money you need to know just the recipient’s email phone number
• If a recipient doesn’t bank with Zelle partners, they can use a standalone app
• No fees

Cons

• There is no way to cancel a transaction if a payee hasn’t enrolled with Zelle
• The app is tied to specific financial institutions. However, it cooperates with more than eleven others, and around thirty more are in the negotiating process. Thus, you need to have a bank account that integrates with the service in order to use it
• Adoption rate. Still, it is hard to compete with other leaders of the market (for example, Venmo)

Cash App

Cash App (formerly Square Cash) is a mobile payment service by Square inc. The service was launched in March 2015, and it was kind of an answer to the growing popularity of P2P transfers. Roughly speaking, Cash App’s functions are similar to Venmo’s. Nevertheless, it doesn’t have a social aspect (share, likes, etc).

Pros

• A transaction takes from a couple of minutes to a couple of days (at your choice)
• It is easy to get started – set up an account and use it
• If you need to send money you need to know just the recipient’s email phone number
• You can use Cash App for business transactions as well (primarily, it was introduced as an app for business needs)
• No fees for P2P transfers
• The company has recently added the option to buy and sell bitcoin. Not every mobile payment service has such an option, which makes it a unique feature

Cons

• Choosing an instant deposit option (instead of one to three business days) will cost you 1% of the deposit amount
• You pay a 3% fee if you use a credit card

SEE ALSO:?

• Square ecosystem: products review
• International money transfer services guide: Western Union
• International money transfer services guide: PayPal & Xoom