Venmo and PayPal users will finally be able to pay each other

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For years, Venmo and PayPal have been like siblings who live in the same house but refuse to talk to each other. 

Both apps make it easy to send money to friends, family, and that one guy on Facebook Marketplace, but strangely, you can’t send money directly between them. 

That’s finally changing this November, according to an email Venmo just sent out.

Starting soon, Venmo and PayPal users will be able to pay each other directly in the US and abroad. 

No more awkward workarounds, like transferring money to your bank first or begging your friend to “just download the other app.” 

PayPal users will be able to find Venmo users by phone number (and later by email), then send money as if the platforms were one big happy family.

If this makes you wonder: wait, doesn’t PayPal own Venmo? Yes, it does. That’s why users have been scratching their heads for years, wondering why this feature wasn’t already a thing. 

The cynical explanation? If you had to juggle both apps to pay everyone, you were more likely to open accounts on both platforms.

For those who prefer digital privacy over convenience, Venmo’s got you covered. 

You can opt out of being discoverable by PayPal users under Settings > Privacy > Find Me, and while you’re at it, maybe switch your default transactions to “Private” before the whole world sees you still splitting Taco Bell bills at 2 AM.

This update is part of something bigger called PayPal World, a global network PayPal announced in July. 

Besides Venmo, PayPal is linking arms with Mercado Pago, India’s NPCI International Payments Limited, and Tenpay Global (WeChat Pay’s cross-border arm). 

The goal? Seamless international transfers without pesky fees.

Altogether, Venmo and PayPal boast 2 billion global users. So when this integration goes live, the odds of you being able to pay literally anyone you know just skyrocketed.

It took long enough, but Venmo and PayPal are finally talking to each other. Now the only real question is: will they start charging us extra once they realize how useful this actually is?

What do you think about Venmo and PayPal finally sorting out cross payments? Do you think it’s a step in the right direction for everybody, or do you have any reasons to believe otherwise? We want to hear from you below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.