Having a frozen Venmo account can be frustrating, but there are steps you can take to unfreeze it.
The two possible reasons why Venmo freezes users’ accounts are a failed payment transaction or a breach of security and user agreements.
You can resolve the first issue by paying the outstanding amount with your debit card, while you’ll need to contact Venmo support to resolve the latter.
After reading the above line, you would have known the possible reason why a Venmo account was frozen. You can check the mail sent from Venmo for further clarification.
In this article, we’ll discuss possible reasons why Venmo freezes accounts, how to unfreeze a Venmo account, and how to prevent further freeze actions on your account.
Why is my Venmo Account Frozen?
From the email Venmo sent you, you should have known why your Venmo account was frozen.
However, this can happen for various reasons, such as a failed Venmo payment or breaches of the Venmo security and user agreement (suspected fraudulent activity or a violation of Venmo’s terms of service).
Let’s explain how these work.
Firstly, regarding a temporarily frozen account due to a failed payment, whenever you make payments from your linked bank account, Venmo processes the payment on its end and waits to be credited by your bank.
Depending on your bank, this process often takes 24 hours or more. When these payments take longer to be cleared by your bank for any reason whatsoever, Venmo will temporarily freeze your account until the funds are repaid.
Possible reasons a bank payment fails include exceeding the ACH transfer limit or having a zero or insufficient balance to cover the fee.
You can resolve this issue by visiting venmo.com/recover and paying the amount owed with a debit card.
You can also link another bank account, but it will take longer for the funds to reach Venmo; rest assured that your Venmo account will be reinstated once your payment is completed.
Credit cards can’t be used to pay back these debts.
Secondly, when your account breaches Venmo’s security and user agreement policies by engaging in suspected fraudulent activities, you’ll have to reach out to Venmo support.
Venmo has security measures that flag any activity it suspects violates Venmo user agreements or widely accepted credit card policies.
Aside from freezing your account, they can reverse payment, hold the payments, or request specific documentation from the user for verification.
If you believe your transaction was in good standing and was flagged by mistake, you can contact Venmo by replying to the email you received when your account was frozen or by contacting them via their website.
Here’s a list of activities that go against Venmo and PayPal policies.
- Violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation.
- Relate to transactions involving (a) narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances, or other products that present a risk to consumer safety, (b) drug paraphernalia, (c) cigarettes, (d) items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity, € stolen goods including digital and virtual goods, (f) the promotion of hate, violence, racial or other forms of intolerance that are discriminatory or the financial exploitation of a crime, (g) items that are considered obscene, (h) items that infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction, (i) certain sexually oriented materials or services, (j) ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (k) certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law.
- Relate to transactions that (a) show the personal information of third parties in violation of applicable law, (b) support pyramid or Ponzi schemes, matrix programs, other “get rich quick” schemes, or specific multi-level marketing programs, (c) are associated with purchases of annuities or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card, (d) are for the sale of certain items before the seller has control or possession of the item, € are by payment processors to collect payments on behalf of merchants, (f) is associated with the sale of traveler’s checks or money orders, (g) involve currency exchanges or check cashing businesses, (h) involves specific credit repair, debt settlement services, credit transactions or insurance activities, or (i) involve offering or receiving payments for bribery or corruption.
- Include sales of products or services identified by government agencies as having a high likelihood of fraud.
- Relate to transactions involving any activity requiring pre-approval without obtaining said approval.
You can get a complete overview from PayPal’s acceptable use policy page.
How to Unfreeze My Venmo Account
Now that you’ve figured out why your Venmo account was frozen, let’s show you what you can do to unfreeze your Venmo account Reddit.
Account Frozen due to a failed Payment.
If your Venmo account was frozen due to a failed payment, you should repay the amount using a debit card to reinstate your account.
This can be done by following the prompt on the app or logging in to the web browser via venmo.com/recover
These actions are often temporarily provided when you pay back the amount your bank refused to pay to Venmo.
You can use a debit card or another bank account with a sufficient amount for the repayment.
Your Venmo balance will usually be negative, depicting a repayment that needs to be made.
Using your debit card is the best option because a bank account can take 3–5 days to clear.
In another development, Venmo allowed users to make partial payments by editing the amount they want to clear off in the meantime and then balancing it up later.
Also, you can ask a friend to send you a payment equivalent to the amount owed to clear off the debts if you don’t have a debit card or bank account to link.
Venmo states, “Any payments you receive on your Venmo account will automatically be applied to the amount you owe to Venmo.” You can read more about this here – https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/217532077
Repayments can’t be made using a credit card.
Account Frozen due to Security or User Agreements Breaches
If your Venmo account was frozen due to your account going against their accepted policies, then you should contact their support through the Venmo ticket form – https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=624807
Alternatively, you can try contacting them via the chat feature on the mobile app.
However, this doesn’t guarantee that your account will be reinstated, as you may be at fault and have been discontinued from using the app.
To prevent future issues with your Venmo account, review their terms of service and follow their guidelines for using the app.
This includes avoiding fraudulent activity, such as using fake names or addresses, and ensuring that any transactions are legitimate and authorized by all parties involved.
If you have a dispute or issue with a transaction, be sure to work with Venmo support to resolve it and avoid potential problems with your account.
In addition, ensure to add the funds to your Venmo balance before making a payment to prevent Venmo from locking your account in the future for a failed payment.
How Long Does it Take to Unfreeze a Venmo Account?
The time it’ll take for Venmo to unfreeze your account depends on the repayment method used and the reason your account was frozen.
If it’s a failed payment and you repaid using your Venmo balance or a debit card, it should usually take minutes to unfreeze your account.
However, using a bank account for repayment might take an additional 3 to 5 days to complete.
Now, if your account was frozen for security and user agreement breaches, it could take longer before it is reinstated, or worst of all, it might never be reinstated.
After examining the case, the decision is left for the support, and there’s no stipulated time frame for this review.
FAQs
What happens when Venmo freezes your account?
When Venmo freezes your account, your transactions on the app will be limited until you either pay back the amount owed or reach out to their customer support.
Also, if the account was frozen due to a failed Payment, any incoming payment will be automatically charged.
How do I unfreeze my Venmo?
To unfreeze your Venmo, use a debit card to pay back the amount owed to Venmo, or contact Venmo support for further information on your account status.
How long does it take for Venmo to unfreeze your account?
It usually takes minutes to 5 days, depending on the reason for the freeze – repayments made using debit cards clear faster than those made with a bank account.
How do I know if my Venmo account is still frozen?
Check the email address linked to your Venmo account for information about the account freeze and next steps.
