Venmo App Can Now Cash Checks, But Only For Some Users

Money-sending app Venmo has announced a new feature available to some users — check-cashing. Called 'Cash a Check,' this feature aims to eliminate the need to visit a bank or other physical location to get your money. The feature will, as you'd expect, support cashing the stimulus checks many people are receiving.

Venmo is a mobile app that can be used to send and receive money quickly between users. The app is popular as a way to send someone money without visiting in person or mailing a check, but on those occasions when you do receive a check, you can now cash it using the Venmo app (assuming you're eligible).

Check-cashing using a mobile app isn't an entirely new feature — you can do this with many mobile bank apps. Diehard Venmo users who may not have access to an ordinary checking account may be forced to use a check-cashing service, however, which involves going to a physical location and waiting in line.

According to Venmo, using its app to cash a check will involve a quick review to approve it, a process that will typically take a few seconds, but that may take a few minutes or, in what the company says are 'rare circumstances,' up to an hour.

Once the check is approved, the money is deposited into the user's Venmo account a few minutes later. There are fees involved with this, but the company says that it is waiving the fees for a temporary time when users cash a government-issued stimulus check using the app.

The 'Cash a Check' feature is live now in the Venmo app on Android and iOS for eligible users located in the US. To use this feature, you'll need a direct deposit or debit card on your account, a verified email address, and the Venmo account must be in good standing.