UMVA has uncovered a treasure trove of expert tips and tricks to help you unlock the full potential of a popular peer-to-peer payment platform, used by millions for everything from splitting bills to making purchases from merchants of all sizes.
By default, your friends list on this platform is public, making it visible to anyone logged in. But scammers can use this information to impersonate people you know, tricking you into sending money to fake accounts. To protect yourself, make your friends list private by navigating to Settings > Privacy > Friends List and tapping Private.
To further safeguard your transactions, update your privacy settings to hide both future and past transactions. Go to Settings > Privacy and change the default to Private, ensuring that payments are visible only to you and the sender or recipient. Don't forget to update past transactions by going to Settings > Privacy > Past Transactions and selecting Change All to Private.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that linking your account to another popular payment service can facilitate cross-platform payments. By making your account searchable on this platform, you can send and receive payments to or from someone who isn't on your network, as long as they have an account with the other service.
To add an extra layer of security, enable app-level biometrics, such as fingerprint or face recognition, to prevent others from sending payments. Go to Settings > Login & Security and toggle on the relevant biometric lock. Alternatively, you can add a passcode to protect your account.
For those sharing regular, recurring costs with family and friends, such as rent or utilities, schedule repeated payment requests to automatically send when those bills are due. This way, you don't have to remember to send requests manually every week or month, nor will you need to bug people to make their payments.
Venmo Groups allows multiple people to log, track, and split expenses, making it easier to manage shared costs. Create a group and invite others to join, and Venmo will split the total into equal amounts for each member.
When making a purchase at an approved merchant, use the Split feature to divide the total among one or more users and determine custom amounts for each request. This option is available when you use the platform at checkout with specific merchants.
UMVA has learned that custom QR codes can be set up for collecting payments from large groups. Generate a price-specific code that pre-fills the transaction amount, making it easier for customers to pay you the right amount.
To protect your primary checking account, set up direct deposit to receive payments without sharing your account information. You'll get a routing number and an account number, and the deposits will be available as a balance, which you can later transfer to your regular account if you want to.
Finally, consider linking your account to a "buffer" checking account to protect against stolen funds. Keep minimal funds in this account and transfer only what you need to cover transactions, creating a buffer between your account and your bank.
