Best Venmo Alternatives for Canadians: Top Money Transfer Apps and Services

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If you use Venmo you know just how popular the platform is. Unfortunately though, Venmo is not available in Canada, and many Canadians are seeking alternatives. Venmo is only available in the United States, but there are so many great alternatives out there in Canada that can do the same thing, including sending money and paying bills and making international transactions.

Why Was Venmo Not Available in Canada?

Though PayPal, Venmo’s parent company, is also US-based, Venmo’s existing regulatory restrictions and business focus means it only serves U.S. customers. To use Venmo, you must be in the U.S., have a U.S. phone number, and give us a U.S. address. For the folks in Canada it’s not accessible. For this reason, financial transfer for Canadians who require something similar often choose alternative fintech apps for specific needs.

Key Features of Venmo and Why It’s So Popular

Back in 2009, it began as a peer to peer payment system where users could send and receive money as instant as possible. This served as a great way of splitting bills, paying friends and for small transactions. Venmo however changed over the years, which included adding cryptocurrency trading and the Venmo Credit Card, which awards cashback rewards. This goes perfectly alongside bank accounts, debit and credit cards and is a go to app for millions of Americans.

Some of Venmo’s standout features include the ability to:

Pay Friends: Instantly send and receive payments from friends, split bills, and track payments.
Venmo Credit Card: Get no annual fees and earn cashback when you use the app.
Buy and Sell Cryptocurrency: With Venmo users can purchase, hold and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum directly through the platform.

Best Alternatives to Venmo for Canadians

While Venmo isn’t available in Canada, there’s an abundance of other apps and platforms that do the same. Canadian users can use these alternatives to transfer funds, manage payments or even trade cryptocurrencies. Below are some of the best options:

1. Wise (formerly TransferWise)

Sending money from Canada to any place in the world is a great choice if you’re looking for Wise. You can enter currency in USD, CAD, or AUD. The ability of users to open local bank accounts in different countries to send and receive money much like a local with Wise. On top of offering competitive exchange rates, unlike PayPal or traditional banks that can charge you high conversion fees. Especially useful for international transfers, Wise provides open fees and fast delivery times.

2. Wealthsimple Cash

Wealthsimple Cash is a simple, easy to use platform for Canadians to transfer money, invest and buy cryptocurrency. Like Venmo, Wealthsimple Cash is a Canada first, seamless peer to peer transfer tool. You can send money for free to your friends and family, and it’s linked up with the other parts of the Wealthsimple ecosystem that shoots you quotes on investment options and markets, or provides you with financial tools. It doesn’t handle international transfers the way Venmo does, but it’s nice having another option for working with local payments and transactions.

3. Xe Money Transfer

Another great alternative is Xe Money Transfer for those that must send money globally. Xe supports more than 130 countries and in excess of 100 currencies, making money transacting across the globe low cost and conveniently fast. Xe is mainly used to send money across countries such as the US and Europe, with users being able to act through a bank transfer, cash collection or mobile wallet. At the platform, you can find real-time exchange rate tracking and transparency about the fees and rates.

4. Interac e-Transfer

For domestic transfers within Canada, your go to is Interac e-transfer. Interac e-Transfer is available at most Canadian financial institutions and you can transfer money directly from one bank account to another using email or text message to receive it. It’s a fast, secure, and reliable means to pay friends or family without a third party app. Interac is free, so Canadians often prefer it because transactions can take minutes.

5. PayPal

PayPal isn’t just the default choice for international transactions — it’s also one of the biggest money transfer apps for Canada and other countries. Users can send money using just an email and PayPal supports multiple currencies. Since fees from PayPal are higher than other comparison fare payers, it remains a solid exchange for transfers of money between Canada and the USA as well as worldwide.

6. Newton

For users of cryptocurrency, Newton is the perfect platform. It is a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange with low fees for Crypto Trading and transfers. Newton is a cryptocurrency wallet where you can send and receive cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum etc. Sentiment, digital currency is a great way to send money to other countries once you’re familiar with it. Unlike the vast majority of the rest, Newton’s crypto services are free of hidden costs and provide Canadians with a simple and transparent platform.

Conclusion

While Venmo isn’t available in Canada, there are some great alternatives for Canadians to send money, pay bills and trade currencies. Whichever option you might need for local transactions or international transfers, Wise, Wealthsimple, Xe, Interac e-Transfer and PayPal among others have got you covered. With these options Canadians can easily make their financial transactions without the use of Venmo.

Disclaimer: The content provided reflects the authors personal opinions and is influenced by current market conditions. Conduct thorough research before making any cryptocurrency investments. The author and the publication are not liable for any financial losses you may incur.