Since its inception in 2009, Venmo has revolutionized the way people send and receive money. Besides this, it allows you to make purchases at selected businesses among other financial transactions. Although this app might be working seamlessly for a couple of months or years, sometimes, your account might get frozen. Typically, this phenomenon is always imminent, thanks to Venmo’s efforts in offering its users the much-needed financial security against fraud, money laundering among other issues. In most cases, this happens whenever your account’s recent activities seems to be going against the expresses credit policies or the User Agreement of this platform. Thankfully, it is possible to unfreeze a frozen Venmo account. In this article, we shall take an in-depth look at how to unfreeze your Venmo account, reasons why your account was frozen, among other related ideas.
How to Unfreeze Your Venmo Account
From the illustration above, it is true to say that your Venmo account can be frozen due to one reason or another. Whether you have tried to make some money transfers without sufficient funds or you violated the User Agreement of this platform, there are many reasons why your account might be frozen. When it comes to the methodologies of unfreezing your account, how you will unfreeze your Venmo account will solely depend on the reasons why your account got frozen in the first place.
For instance, if you had tried to send money to your friend or family member but your account did not sufficient funds, be sure that your account will be frozen. Although the money transfer will be processed, your account will be temporarily frozen until you manage to pay back the amount you owe Venmo platform. If you are a victim of such circumstances, you should follow these steps in order to solve this problem:
- To start with, visit venmo.com/addfunds
- Once you are on this site, key in your credentials in order to log into your account.
- Select the bank from which you would like to transfer money
- Key in the amount you owe Venmo. For optimal results, ensure that it is enough to cover all the amount you owe this platform.
- Confirm that everything is okay and then wait for your transaction to be processed.
Once the payment is processed, your account will no longer be frozen. However, if you choose to pay back this money via the standard bank transfer, be sure that your account might take 2 to 5 days because this is the period the money transfer will be processed or completed.
In case you are in a rush and would like to unfreeze your Venmo account, consider transferring money from a debit card that is linked to your Venmo account. Unlike the bank transfer process, this one will take a few minutes and you will be good to go.
On the other hand, if you went against the User Agreement or violated it altogether, your account is likely to be frozen. Fortunately, you can unfreeze it by following this procedure:
- First and foremost, visit venmo.com/recover and then use your credentials to log in to your account.
- Here, you will find an email that Venmo sent to you, concerning freezing your account.
- Once you see this email, you need to respond to it so that your account can be unfrozen. Here, you might be required to upload a photo of any of your identification documents such as your government-issued ID so that Venmo can verify that you are the legitimate owner of the account.
Alternatively, you can contact your chat with the customer support team of this platform. The good news is that you can do so using the Venmo app by doing the following:
- Launch the Venmo app on your mobile phone or tablet
- On the upper left side of your screen, you will see the menu icon. Click it.
- Choose the ‘Get Help’ option located at the bottom of the menu
- Click on the ‘Contact Us’ option on your screen
- Upon clicking the ‘Contact Us’ option, you will find 3 options. These include, ‘Chat with us,’ Email us(support@venmo.com) or Call Us(855-812-4430)
- Regardless of the method you choose to reach out to Venmo’s customer support team, there is a need for you to explain or narrate your case in a detailed manner. Failure to do might make your account to remain frozen for longer periods.
How Long Does it Take for Venmo to Unfreeze Your Account
Typically, your account may remain frozen until you take appropriate actions as illustrated above. If you are fast enough, your account might be unfrozen within minutes. However, if you delay or choose options such as the bank transfer process, your Venmo account might be unfrozen after 2 to 5 days.
How to get money out of frozen Venmo account
Well, getting money out of a frozen Venmo account is a tall order. This is because such undertakings cannot be a success because frozen Venmo accounts hardly allow users to make transactions like they would in ordinary times.
To put this into perspective, you will not make purchases, withdrawals or even transfer money to your friend. For you get money from your frozen Venmo account, you must unfreeze or unblock it so that you can access your money with ease.
Reasons Why Your Account Is Frozen
Your Venmo account might be frozen due to a number of reasons. Some of these reasons include:
1. Your account has insufficient funds
One of the common reasons why your Venmo account might be frozen is because your account has insufficient funds. For instance, if you try to send payment to your peer but your account does not have enough funds, your transfer might be processed but your account will be frozen until you repay the amount you owe Venmo platform.
2. Your account has been suspected of having engaged in a suspicious activity
In a bid to cub fraud and money laundry, Venmo always freezes accounts whose users are suspected of having engaged in a suspicious activity. For instance, if you try to log in to your account using the wrong PIN or attempt to log in using a different device other than the one that you normally use, your account is likely to be frozen temporarily. Better still, if you try to log in from a different location, your account is likely to be frozen.
Also, if Venmo notes that someone else might be using your Venmo account without your express permission. During such scenarios, Venmo can freeze your account as they try to carry out their own due diligence about that matter. In addition, this goes a long way in preventing potential loss of money in case someone else has your log in details with him or her.
Other times, other financial institution or bank might alert Venmo that someone else is using your account without your knowledge. If this happens, Venmo will freeze your account as such acts are deemed to be a breach of the laws of the land.
In this case, this platform will send you an email indicating that your account has temporarily been frozen. To undo this activity, you might have to contact the customer support team of this platform and narrate your story.
3. Violation of the User agreement
For you to be allowed to use this platform effectively, you have to adhere to the policies or guidelines as stipulated in Venmo’s User Agreement. If by any chance you try to bleach any of the terms spelt out in the User Agreement, chances are that your account will be frozen. In case your account was frozen due to such action, the only way to fix it is to contact the Venmo’s customer support team and then address your issue from that end.
Other reasons that might make your Venmo account to be frozen include:
- You have tried to send more than $299.99 within a period of 7 days.
- Making too many separate transfers within a period of 24 hours
- Whenever Venmo needs to reverse certain payments that you made some time back.
How to Avoid Getting Your Venmo Account Frozen
The last thing that you would wish to happen to you is for your Venmo account to be frozen. This is because you might not be able to make purchases, send money to your friends, withdraw money and so forth. To avert such scenarios, you should consider the following ideas:
- Always ensure that your account does not have insufficient funds. If at all you have run out of funds, consider replenishing your account first before you can start making any transaction. Whether you will transfer money from your bank account to Venmo account or move funds from your debit or credit card, there are many methods that can help you fund your account. In case you do not have more funds, consider sending a smaller amount than the balance on your Venmo account.
- Keep your account details confidential. By keeping your log in details safe and secure, no one will be able to access your account without your consent.
- Avoid logging into your account using multiple devices. Instead, only use one device at a time to log in to your account. Besides this, consider logging in from one location as changing locations can prompt Venmo to freeze your account.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I delete my Venmo account and make a new one?
Yes. As we speak, it is possible for you delete your Venmo account and then create a new one. However, before you delete your account, there is a need for you to withdraw all the monies in your account.
Once you have transferred all the funds to your preferred bank accounts or friend’s account, you can now go to the ‘Settings’ section and then click on the ‘Close My Venmo’ account and the tap on the ‘Next’ option.
If my Venmo account is frozen can i still receive money?
No. You will not be in a position to receive money like you used to. To avert this problem, you might have to unfreeze your account first. Whether you will pay back the amount of money you owe Venmo or contacting the Venmo’s customer support team, use any of these methods to unfreeze your account and you be good to go.
Will Venmo refund money if scammed?
To start with, Venmo will always take back all funds that it deems to be fraudulently acquired or sent. In case you have been scammed, do not worry as Venmo will take care of that.
Therefore, this platform will refund all the monies you have been scammed. Ideally, you should not transfer money to a scammer before this platform reverses the transaction you have made. Instead, leave that issue to this platform and everything will be okay.