How to unfreeze your Venmo account, or contact Venmo for support if you don't know why it's been frozen

Melanie Weir

Nov 13, 2019, 21:12 IST

How to unfreeze your Venmo account, or contact Venmo for support if you don't know why it's been frozen

Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

There are many different reasons why Venmo might freeze your account, but if it's due to insufficient funds, you can easily unfreeze it.

It's easy to unfreeze your Venmo account if you have insufficient funds - simply transfer enough money to your Venmo account to cover the debt and it should unfreeze in a few days.
However, if Venmo has frozen your account for violating policies, you'll have to contact Venmo to unfreeze it.
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Venmo is a mobile payment app that allows you to send money to peers directly, without having to fumble with cash or make change.

If you have Venmo, you know how convenient it is - but you might not be feeling that convenience if Venmo has frozen your account.

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There are a few reasons why Venmo might freeze an account.

The first and most common reason is that you simply did not have enough funds in your bank account to complete a transfer.

When this happens, Venmo still pays the person you transferred money to, but you now owe Venmo that amount. The quickest way to clear your account is to pay the debt using a debit card.

Here's how to do it.

How to unfreeze your Venmo account

1. Go to venmo.com/addfunds, preferably on a computer, and sign in to your Venmo account.

2. In the pop-up window, select the bank you would like to transfer the funds from. Note that you will need to have your bank account verified with Venmo to do so.

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Select your bank.

3. Enter the amount you would like to transfer, which should be at least as much as you owe.

4. The money should transfer to Venmo, thus unfreezing your account, in two to three business days.

Venmo may also freeze your account if you violate its User Agreement - specifically, if it notices suspicious activity occurring, or if you are participating in any other of the many "Restricted Activites" outlined by the company in the User Agreement, like using Venmo outside the US.

A frozen account could mean that Venmo thinks somebody is using your account without your knowledge, freezing it in order to prevent further fraudulent payments while they investigate. It could also mean they think there may be some illegal activity being carried out on your account.

If any of these may be the reason your account was frozen, you will need to speak to someone at Venmo to resolve the issues. Here's how:

How to contact Venmo to unfreeze your account

1. Go to venmo.com/recover and log in.

2. Reply to the email Venmo sent when your account was frozen. You may need to include a photo of a valid form of ID so that they can verify that it's you.

It's also easy to call Venmo. Between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm, Monday through Friday (and with the exception of "major holidays"), you can call the company's Customer Care Team at 855-812-4430.

You can also chat with someone from Venmo directly from the app. To do so:

1. Open the Venmo app.

2. Tap the menu icon in the upper left hand corner.

3. Tap "Get Help" at the bottom of the menu.