Poll: Do You Use Cash Apps (e.g. Venmo)?

[disneysteve]

I started using Venmo a few years ago at my old work location. It was super convenient when any of us was ordering lunch for the group or running to Dunkin or whatever. Or we were collecting for a gift or a group event we were all doing outside of work (escape room, bowling, etc.). When COVID shut down gyms, my wife used Venmo to pay her trainer who continued working with her via Zoom. Now, she uses Venmo for people to pay her for her sewing and crochet creations. She just got a couple of payments to day as some of my daughter's coworkers ordered some items from her.


I use Zelle to transfer money from my mom to me to reimburse me for groceries and prescriptions and whatever else I get for her. She used to have to write me a check every time but this is so much easier. I use it for some other things, too.


I've also used one or the other for various other money exchanges between friends.

 

[Dtail]

Use cash mostly. Use Zelle rarely for family and twice a month to pay the cleaning person.

 

[COcheesehead]

IMHO, it's much easier to use an app on your phone to give a tip to an airport shuttle bus driver than to worry about carrying around enough $1 and $5 bills all the time. ATMs don't dispense anything smaller than twenties. Using an app means I never have to think about or plan for having the right amount and denominations of cash on me.

+1

 

[Out of Steam]

My wife and I share a Venmo account, which she is in charge of. In turn, I am in charge of the household's PayPal account.

 

[38Chevy454]

Good old greenbacks cash for me. No apps. I have sent or received via Paypal however.

 

[rk911]

no need for any cash app. if i need to reimburse someome for something or pay for something where a CC is not accepted I'll use actual cash, otherwise I'll write a check (housekeeper, etc). credit card for nearly everything.

 

[rk911]

Good old greenbacks cash for me. No apps. I have sent or received via Paypal however.

I had a Paypal acct for a few years for eBay and some charities but closed it when they went political.

 

[skyking1]

I've used paypal in the past to reconcile a long distance debt, and recently venmo for one.

 

[Sunset]

I have refused to sign up for any of these payment apps, as they don't offer much protection and I know so little about them, someone could scam me.

I have paid bill from the bank electronically, but there I do a test payment of ~$1 first and see that it worked, from then on, I use the saved payment address.

 

[latexman]

I was just thinking, part of the Uber and Lyft type apps have a similar function as Venmo/Zelle to pay the driver. I use those too.

 

[jebmke]

I was just thinking, part of the Uber and Lyft type apps have a similar function as Venmo/Zelle to pay the driver. I use those too.

Some retailers do this as well. I use Apple Pay or a card.

 

[CincyDave]

Cash, check or credit card for me. Old school I guess.

 

[Time2]

I setup Zelle to either get or send money to a kid, can't remember which.
On another occasion, I had $600, 5 thread serge sewing machine for sale on Marketplace and the person wanted to use Zelle. I went to my bank and ask my banker about the possibility of a claw back and the safety. He said, once it's in your account it's there and they won't get it back. So, I started the follow through with the purchaser. I immediately got suspicious when they wanted to pay without seeing the sewing machine. I did make the mistake of giving them my email address. They sent me fabricated forms showing they had made the deposit in my bank, but my bank never showed the deposit. It all turned out to be a scam. I did later sell the machine for $500 cash, plus $100 worth of thread and a pair of scissors for $10. Buyer was happy, I was happy, except I had to meet him half way which was a 1:15 minute drive. But, it was sold after 10 years of my wife and I talking about it. She had it over 30 years!

 

[Phroig]

Chase Freedom and Discover both do 5% for PayPal one quarter each year. In those quarters, we use PayPal for our utilities and donations.

 

[jollystomper]

Chase Freedom and Discover both do 5% for PayPal one quarter each year. In those quarters, we use PayPal for our utilities and donations.

+1.

We primarily use PayPal as all of our kids are on it, and it is an easy way to send money gifts, particularly for the ones living overseas. The only issue is a recent one, one of our sons has a business PayPal account we used for gifts, but since they changed their policy that everything going to a business account is considered income, we do not send it to him that way. He has been slow in getting a personal account, or any of the other online methods. For now we send him encrypted check images that he is able to deposit.

We have only used Venmo a few times, when we wanted to give a gift and that was the only option.

 

[karen1972]

We mostly use cash, though I did set up paypal years ago and send Christmas money that way to my nieces and nephews as that was the only option I was aware of at the time.

 

[athena53]

I use Zelle but only when there was no option. I don’t care for it because participating banks are reluctant to provide the protections against fraud dictated by the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. This payments infrastructure is being built outside the current regulatory structure, and that’s a liability for consumers.

Family members who sell a lot on FB have told me that most of the (likely) fraudulent buyers use Zelle.

I like my credit cards. Period. I did just get Square for the Garden Club; I'm Treasurer and we finally decided we needed to start accepting something besides cash and paper checks.

 

[jim584672]

Google Pay, been using this for a few weeks. Nice to tap and pay with your phone.

 

[rodi]

I rarely use paypal. Only when it's the only option.

I used to transfer money to my kids (college students who get monthly deposits from me) via Zelle - but I'd hit the limit trying to transfer to both boys on the same day. Now I just do a transfer from my schwab account to their schwab account.

Both boys pay their rent via zelle.

We are paid our rent from the granny flat via zelle. Tenant has the option to pay via cash, check, money order, or zelle. I love that I get paid even when I'm out of town (vs having to be home to receive and deposit the check.)

My sister prefers venmo - so when I need to pay her back for campsite reservations, for example, I use venmo. She also uses Venmo to send gifts (birthday/christmas) to my boys.

I had cashapp - but deleted the account when I read about issues.

 

[rodi]

Oh - and I have google pay setup... but don't use it. (Not an apple user.)

 

[ls99]

Don't do app based payment, except paypal. Other than food in supermarket, gas via debit card, all cash or check transactions.

 

[disneysteve]

I posted earlier but wanted to add that I never use Zelle or Venmo with strangers. For something like a Facebook marketplace sale, it’s cash only.

 

[Gumby]

Looking at the poll responses, it appears that 40% of us do not use any of these money transfer apps. Of the 60% who do, probably about one half have only one app and the other half have two.

In my own life, I have never had a need for these apps, but I understand that others find them quite convenient.

 

[rodi]

In my own life, I have never had a need for these apps, but I understand that others find them quite convenient.

Speaking for myself... (Data set of 1 person)...

If it was just hubby and me I wouldn't use the apps. With kids still on the payroll, living in other locations, it is necessary.

As a landlord - I *love* getting paid by Zelle. It's free, goes straight into my account with zero delay, and I don't need to be home to receive the check and deposit it...

For those reasons - we use Zelle/Venmo... But if we didn't have kids away at college, or have a tenant that pays us rent, we wouldn't use them.

 

[Aerides]

I use Zelle.

DH has a credit union, most of our cash is in high interest other places. I use Zelle to help move things quickly to the bill-paying accounts.

My nail place likes cash. Or zelle, so I zelle them when I forget to bring cash.