Just Venmo Me...

[amcnj]

Just be glad they don’t also add a “convenience fee”!

 

[mousefan73]

I think there are two things here:
1. A new way of payments-let's say for close family and friends who were going to give anyways I like this idea.. though as a giver I would like to know what this is going to... To pay for college, a summer road trip? A new car? It's just me but at least tell me what I am supporting.


2. A money grab via announcement to people the kid doesnt know.. Sorry OP but a no-go. I would toss the card in recycling. 20 years ago it would be like printing on the card " please send a check to PoBox etc...) to random people. same thing.. techinology doesnt change that..

I have a simle rule: if you don't call us on birthdays, send us a christmas card or at least call or visit through out the year or have regular personal contact via social.. Dont sent me any announcements asking for anything. Exceptions are weddings but then we only give if invited too.

 

[sam_gordon]

Huh, I didn’t even know that you could make your own QR code.

Just google 'QR Code Generator'. There are a bunch out there. VERY easy to use.

1. A new way of payments-let's say for close family and friends who were going to give anyways I like this idea.. though as a giver I would like to know what this is going to... To pay for college, a summer road trip? A new car? It's just me but at least tell me what I am supporting.

Sorry, I don't understand this. If you were giving a check or cash, you wouldn't know what it was going to. Why would Venmo be different?

 

[Babs Johnson]

Just ignore the announcement.

It it was for someone you know and intend to give a gift anyway, I see nothing wrong with providing a Venmo option. It’s an option, not a command. I doubt the recipient would refuse paper cash or a plastic gift card.

 

[mousefan73]

Just google 'QR Code Generator'. There are a bunch out there. VERY easy to use.

Sorry, I don't understand this. If you were giving a check or cash, you wouldn't know what it was going to. Why would Venmo be different?

For me there is something different for me pro-actively putting cash/check in a card and giving it, but for a parent to take the time to "promote" a QR code for payment it would be nice to also state why should I scan this code... I know in the end it's the same, but If I were to create a postcard for my son with a QR code for payment I would state WHY

edit: my comment is for if a person is just randomly sending out stuff like OP, it wouldnt hurt to "market" the QR code... have the kid state help support, college, books, car, road trip etc.... maybe I wasnt clear before, but if I giving to a niece/nephew I am close with I dont need nor care to know..I was focusing more on basic crowd funding stuff

 

[sam_gordon]

I know in the end it's the same, but If I were to create a postcard for my son with a QR code for payment I would state WHY

It's in the OP... it's for "convenient gift giving".

 

[dvcgirl67]

I've had to "kind of" come to terms that this is just the way that the world is these days. Now, my niece is about to graduate from H.S. this June and my sister would never in a zillion years send out a notice with a venmo code on it for convenient gift giving. She's having a party, and people will bring cards with cash and checks in them....old school style. My sister and I are gen-xers and this kind of stuff drives us insane, but we're all seeing more and more of it. From graduation parties to weddings, people are just opening asking for cash. I know, I know....the convenience of clicking on a link to help pay for Jack and Jill's wedding is soooo easy, but it always feels a little tacky to me.

We just returned from a trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We'd planned on Kauai and the Big Island, but had to bail on Kauai last minute because the weather looked bad for our entire stay....so, we switched to Oahu for 5 nights for the first part, one at the Halekulani on Waikiki beach and four at the Four Seasons Ko Olina (right next to Aulani). For one entire day at the adult pool we watched as staff set up for a lavish wedding for about 75 people on the lawn by this pool...with a beautiful view of the ocean. This was not going to be a cheap affair. By late afternoon (and a couple of adult beverages in), guests began to speculate on the bill....lol.

The couple's names were on several signs in different areas, "Let's pop some bottles to celebrate Sophie and Paul!!" In today's world it took me about 15 seconds to find the couple on-line...just typed in their names and the hotel name....and viola, I found their wedding site on The Knot. They were both doctors, who met at a prestigious east coast medical school. And the only item they had on their registry was...."Wedding Cash Fund."

The next day at the same pool, we saw many of the wedding guests enjoying themselves with the bride and groom. We were under a shaded area and a couple about our age (mid-50s) who attended the wedding wandered over to a couple of empty loungers looking for shade (away from the where the wedding crowd was seated). At one point my husband heard the woman say something like, "I'm glad they're enjoying themselves....we're all paying for it." We got a good chuckle out of that. The reality is....we've *always* paid for part of any wedding/honeymoon we attended when we gave a cash gift. It's just that couples never came out and openly *asked* for it. That's the part that takes getting used to I guess....but I give....because it's just the way the world is heading.

 

[Moliphino]

Huh, I didn’t even know that you could make your own QR code.

In this case, Venmo creates it to make it easy for people to pay to your account.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Yeah that’s poorly worded.

Even for weddings with honeymoon funds they have far better wording than that.

 

[kdonnel]

Huh, I didn’t even know that you could make your own QR code.

Here is a QR code that when scanned decodes to a URL that takes the person to your post in this thread.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

Here is a QR code that when scanned decodes to a URL that takes the person to your post in this thread.

View attachment 761191

 

[Brian Noble]

Is it the ultimate in money grubbing poor manners, or am I old and it's the new way?

The manners problem, to me, is mentioning a gift in the announcement at all. Instead, if one would like to offer a gift, one would discretely inquire with the parents as to the best way of doing so. If the parents are hip*, they will offer the venmo code. If they are not, then the kid has to cash the check. (They can use a mobile app for that, so it's not particularly inconvenient.)

But, I don't think the venmo code itself is any worse than any other "here's how I'd like my gift" annotation. Once you've mentioned the word "gift", you are in for a penny, so may as well be in for a pound and mention the preferred mechanism.

--------
*: Yes, I am aware that only The Olds use the word hip in this way.

 

[AppleDumpling]

No one around here sends graduation announcements. I’ve never gotten one in my life. And there is no way I’d give a gift to someone I don’t know and never met. It seems so inappropriate in this case, since you are only a casual acquaintance of the parents.

Regarding Venmo, I think asking for gifts like that is presumptuous and in poor taste. I do sometimes use payment apps similar to Venmo, but if I were sending a gift, it would be a check or cash in a card with a personal note. I’m old and old-school.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I haven’t seen this mentioned, but sorry if I missed it.

When someone pays me on Venmo, Venmo takes a little cut for themselves (and not complaining about it; it’s their business and they should get paid for it. It is a handy app and I use it a lot). Most of the time it’s just a dollar and some change.

If someone is taking all Venmo gifts for something like a wedding, I’m thinking they’re losing quite a bit. If they have 100 guests, say, and they lose a dollar or two on each payment (likely; maybe more on larger amounts), that’s a significant amount of money lost.

 

[sam_gordon]

I haven’t seen this mentioned, but sorry if I missed it.

When someone pays me on Venmo, Venmo takes a little cut for themselves (and not complaining about it; it’s their business and they should get paid for it. It is a handy app and I use it a lot). Most of the time it’s just a dollar and some change.

If someone is taking all Venmo gifts for something like a wedding, I’m thinking they’re losing quite a bit. If they have 100 guests, say, and they lose a dollar or two on each payment (likely; maybe more on larger amounts), that’s a significant amount of money lost.

Pretty sure it depends on HOW they send you the money. From Venmo's website:
The only way the RECEIVER loses money is if they do the "Instant Transfer".
The only way the SENDER loses money is if they send via CC instead of balance/debit card

ETA: Link to Venmo's fee page: https://venmo.com/resources/our-fees/

 

[Brian Noble]

When someone pays me on Venmo, Venmo takes a little cut for themselves (and not complaining about it; it’s their business and they should get paid for it. It is a handy app and I use it a lot). Most of the time it’s just a dollar and some change.

I think it is possible to avoid the venmo cut--at least, we don't seem to pay a fee when we reimburse our kids for things, or they reimburse us. I don't think we pay fees to fund or cash out the account either, but it might depend on the details of how you do it.

It's even possible to fund a venmo account with a credit card, fee-free. My AmEx card has a feature that allows me to transfer money between my card and my venmo balance with no fees, though it is intended for friends/family use, not commercial.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/services/amex-peer-to-peer/send-and-split/

If you are using venmo as a means of payment for a business, then yes they do take a cut, but in return the buyer can use a credit card w/o paying extra for it.

 

[Pink Partridge]

The manners problem, to me, is mentioning a gift in the announcement at all.

100% this!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Will look into it, thanks, guys!

 

[DisneyHardin]

I haven’t seen this mentioned, but sorry if I missed it.

When someone pays me on Venmo, Venmo takes a little cut for themselves (and not complaining about it; it’s their business and they should get paid for it. It is a handy app and I use it a lot). Most of the time it’s just a dollar and some change.

If someone is taking all Venmo gifts for something like a wedding, I’m thinking they’re losing quite a bit. If they have 100 guests, say, and they lose a dollar or two on each payment (likely; maybe more on larger amounts), that’s a significant amount of money lost.

I've never been charged a fee when someone sends me money on Venmo.

 

[SharonZ]

Was this just an announcement with a QR code for Venmo, or an invitation to a graduation party? You don't know the graduate, only the parents through a business contact with your husband? Venmo or not, I would feel no reason to send a gift.