This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Dillon. Stan Kats is the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology & cybersecurity solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan has over 7 years of cybersecurity experience, holding senior positions in information security at General Motors, AIG, and Aramark over his career. Stan received a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California.
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Has your Venmo suddenly stopped working? Whether the app just isn't responsive or you're getting declined payments, it can be extremely frustrating for the app to not work when you need to use it. In this article, we'll explain why Venmo might not be working for you on your iPhone or Android, go over some fixes and workarounds to get the app working again, and explain some common error codes you may be seeing.
Things You Should Know
You have an insufficient balance. If you tried to send a Venmo payment but your balance could not cover the cost, the payment will likely be declined. Ensure you have enough money in your account to process the Venmo payment, and add more (if possible) if your account is a bit short.
You don't have a stable internet connection. If your phone does not have a good connection to the internet, your payments may decline or the app may not work properly. Ensure you've got a stable Wi-Fi connection, or swap to mobile data by turning off Wi-Fi.
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Venmo may be having technical issues. From time to time, Venmo may experience technical glitches that can cause payments to decline or for the app to simply not work at all. Venmo could also be undergoing maintenance, rendering the app unusable.
There is a problem with your bank's network. If you're trying to send a bank transfer that is getting declined, there could be an issue with your bank instead of Venmo itself. If you try logging in to your bank app and you're notified that your bank is having technical issues, this is likely the culprit.
Your phone could be having issues. If your phone has been on for a long time, isn't updated to the latest OS, or is a bit older, you could be experiencing technical glitches with your phone itself that could be causing Venmo to not work properly.
Your card issuer or bank declined the purchase. If your card issuer or bank decided that your Venmo payment seemed suspicious, it may have been declined by them instead of Venmo. Venmo unfortunately doesn't explain why a payment was declined, and does not see any specifics about why a bank or card issuer declined a payment. [1] X Research source
You've exceeded your Venmo payment limit. If you haven't done identity verification, you can spend up to $299.99 per week on Venmo. If you verify your identity, you can send up to $60,000 per week. If you're trying to send a lot of money at once, you may be running into this issue which is causing your payment to decline. [2] X Research source
You have missing or outdated account information. If you haven't fully filled out your Venmo profile, or if your information has changed since you first input it, your payment could be declined due to a mismatch with your bank or card issuer.
You're sending a lot of payments at once. If you send many payments in a short amount of time, Venmo may consider this suspicious and decline those payments. This is especially true if you haven't used your Venmo account in a while and suddenly start sending or receiving a lot of payments.
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Check your account balance. Check your Venmo or bank balance to ensure you have enough money available to complete the payment. If not, add more money (if possible) to complete the payment or use a different payment method, such as using a credit card instead of a bank account.
Log out and log back in. If you're able to access the Venmo app but it's not working properly, try logging out and logging back in. This can refresh your Venmo session and clear out technological glitches.
Restart the app. If the Venmo app is not responsive or isn't loading properly, try restarting it. This can help refresh any glitches that may be occurring, especially if the app has been open on your phone for some time.
Restart your phone. Just like the app, your phone can experience technical glitches from time to time, especially if it's been on for a while. If you are noticing issues with your Venmo app and restarting the app didn't fix it, restart your phone entirely.
Reinstall Venmo. If the app isn't working for you, or it won't let you even access the app to log out, you can try reinstalling Venmo. This will also ensure you're on the latest version of the app, and will not affect your Venmo account.
Contact Venmo. If no other troubleshooting options work you can contact Venmo via their contact form, app on iOS or Android, or by calling (855) 812-4430. [4] X Research source
Wait for app problems to resolve. If the Venmo app isn't working and you've checked your internet connection and restarted your app and your phone, the issue is likely with the Venmo app itself and you'll have to wait for Venmo to fix the problem.
Use an alternative payment service. If Venmo isn't working for you, try using another payment service like PayPal or Cash App. This may not fix the root cause of why Venmo isn't working for you, but it will allow you to complete your payment on time if Venmo isn't working.
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400/403 errors. If you're getting a 400 or 403 error, that means you're trying to do something in Venmo that isn't possible or allowed. This could be that you're trying to send a payment despite being at your weekly payment limit or you're trying to send money to high-risk business. [5] X Research source
"Bad state" errors. If you get a "Bad state" error, Venmo is experiencing technical issues. If you get this error, you will need to wait for Venmo to fix the issue. If you already tried to send a payment or bank transfer, check your transaction history to see if it went through or not.
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