You can now use your Venmo account to pay PayPal users in 90 countries: here's how

If you've ever traveled abroad with a group of friends, you might already know the post-trip ritual of figuring out who owes what, followed by the inevitable realization that half the group doesn't use the same payment app. It now looks like one of the major fintech walled gardens is finally going to open up.

Venmo, as part of a major structural expansion, will now allow its users to send and receive money from hundreds of millions of PayPal users across 90 different countries. This is Venmo's largest expansion of its addressable market since the app launched in 2009.

The move also connects two massive demographics, Venmo's fiercely loyal and young user base in the U.S., and PayPal's global footprint.

To make and receive payments from PayPal users, Venmo users can:

1. Search by phone number: Enter your recipient's full phone number in the search bar. The app will surface their PayPal account if they have one linked to that number and are searchable via the user's privacy settings.
2. Enter the amount: Choose the amount you want to send in US dollars. Venmo automatically shows the amount your recipient will receive in their preferred currency.
3. Add a payment note and send: Personalize your payment with a message and hit send.

Back in July 2025, PayPal had unveiled a new initiative to create a unified global payment system, partnering up with China's Tenpay, India's UPI, and South America's Mercado Pago to facilitate seamless cross-border retail transactions. During that announcement, PayPal CEO Alex Chriss explicitly promised that PayPal and Venmo would become fully interoperable in 2026.

Venmo notes that although payments to and from PayPal incur no fees within the U.S., international transaction fees will apply for money sent internationally.

All fees and currency conversion rates will be shown up front before you complete your payment, so there’s no hidden fees or surprises. The currency conversion rate shown includes a spread.

Venmo, however, said that it is waiving its international transfer fees through August 24, 2026, to make the integration easier and introduce more of its users to the seamless transactions now possible.