A Venmo won’t let me confirm my identity situation can be deeply annoying. Don’t worry! It’s a solvable situation if you follow the right steps.
Why Won’t Venmo Let Me Confirm My Identity?
Venmo’s identity confirmation system is an automated process. Sometimes, there is a hitch in this because your address or name might have changed from the document you submitted, or there is no way to verify the information you gave. You can rectify this by sending identity documentation separately in the Venmo app.
Why Venmo Asks For Identity Verification
Venmo is a payment service under the jurisdiction of the United States Treasury Department. The business proceedings are kept under the watchful eyes of the government to protect customers.
As such, Venmo has a responsibility to collect a couple of information from users who want to open a balance dictated by federal law.
Venmo can get you better access to their services if they can verify the following:
- Your name.
- Date of birth.
- Address.
- Social security number.
Initially, Venmo asks you to verify your details when you open an account with them. However, you can skip it for the time being.
Venmo has no choice but to ask you to proceed with verification if you are trying to do any of the following:
- Receiving payments for a good or service you sold through Venmo, whether from a personal or business account.
- Sending more than $300 in under 7 days.
- Transferring more than $1000 to your Venmo account in a week.
- Getting the managerial position for a group Venmo account.
Considering why verification is essential, you are curious why you’re in a ‘Venmo won’t let me confirm my identity’ situation and what you can do about it.
Reasons Why: Venmo Won’t Let Me Confirm My Identity
1. Venmo App Isn’t Updated
If you don’t have the latest version of the Venmo app, you could face issues with the verification process.
As the verification system is automated, if all the processes within the app aren’t up to date, it can encounter problems trying to scan your documents to see if they’re correct.
2. Venmo Is Down
It could simply be that the Venmo servers are down for the time being. Go to Is It Down Right Now? to see if there are any outage reports. If so, it is a matter of coming back and restarting the verification process when the glitch has been resolved.
3. Wrong Name
The verification process actually begins when you first create your Venmo account. So, if you entered a nickname or a false name during the signup process, it won’t match the legal documents you uploaded on the app.
A ‘Venmo won’t let me confirm my identity situation’ is inevitable in this case.
4. Wrong Phone Number
Similar to the name situation, the phone number you add during the signup process is part of the verification. Since you will have to connect Venmo to your bank account, if your Venmo number is different from the one registered with your bank, there will be verification issues.
5. No SSN or ITIN
This is the biggest reason why Venmo won’t let you complete the verification process. You need to have either a Social security number or an individual taxpayer identification number to verify your identity. In the absence of both of these, verification isn’t on the cards.
What To Do When Venmo doesn’t Let Verify Your Identity?
There are a couple of steps you can try out in a ‘Venmo won’t let me confirm my identity’ scenario.
1. Update the Venmo App
If the verification issue is due to problems with the app, updating the app should do the trick. However, sometimes, due to cache storage, you might face trouble even after updating the app.
To ensure that doesn’t happen:
- Hard press on the Venmo app.
- When the info icon pops up, tap it.
- Click on Uninstall and choose Confirm.
- Once the app is deleted, go to Play Store or App Store.
- Tap Install to download the latest version.
Before you delete the app, note down your Venmo login credentials somewhere. Otherwise, you might have to go through the entire password recovery process.
2. Contact Venmo Help Desk
If the issue with your identity verification is due to the wrong name or number, you have to contact Venmo customer service directly. You can raise a ticket on their Submit a request form.
In most scenarios, they will ask you to email the right documentation with your legal name and number present properly. Once they have complete assurance you are the owner of the Venmo account and the wrong name is a mistake, they will be able to update their system to make room for the changes.
3. Create a New Account
If the issue with your wrong name and number is irreversible, it would be a better idea to create a new Venmo account.
Delete your Venmo account by:
- Launching the Venmo app.
- Tapping on your profile picture on the left.
- Tapping the Settings button among the options.
- Find Preferences.
- Select Account.
- Choose Close Venmo Account.
Once you have confirmed your previous Venmo account has been closed, create a new account with the right name and number. This time, the verification process should be smooth sailing.
Additionally, you don’t need to close your old Venmo account. However, if you try operating both with the same number or same legal name, you might face some issues, which is why it is suggested.
How to Verify Your Identity on Venmo
As a last measure, let’s also understand how to verify your identity on Venmo. Knowing the exact procedure will prevent you from making any mistakes in the future.
- Open the Venmo App.
- Select your profile icon on the top left.
- Tap Settings.
- Scroll down until you find the Security section.
- Tap Identity Verification.
- When the one-time security page opens, tap on Next.
- Enter your information as prompted.
- This will generally be your legal name, birth date, SSN or ITIN, and your address with zip code.
- Tap Next.
- Venmo will ask you to provide documents such as your US passport or driver’s license, SSN assignment letter, etc.
- Upload the documents. Take clear pictures if you don’t have the scanned versions.
- Click Confirm once you are done.
It takes Venmo anywhere from one to three days to review your information.
Sometimes, the company may ask you for additional information via mail or through the app. Provide the document as and when asked, and your identity verification should be successful.
FAQs
1. Can you use Venmo under 18?
You can use Venmo under 18 as long as you don’t verify your identity. During the identity verification process, the app will confirm you are 18 and a citizen of the US.
Only then would they approve your identity verification.
2. Is the verification process different from the group account?
No, the verification process for a group account isn’t different from a personal account.
Every person in a group account will have to verify their identity separately on their account to be able to use the group account. As Venmo isn’t letting users create any new group accounts for the time being, this only applies to users who already have a group account.
3. Can you make payments on Venmo without verifying?
You can make payments via Venmo by using your debit or credit card linked to the app without verifying your identity. However, if you want to use Venmo balance for payments, you will have to go through the identification process.
Final Words
Venmo’s identity verification process is partially due to the rules and regulations set by the government and, in part, to prevent scams. When money transfers of large amounts are occurring, it’s important to identify the person behind it. So, if you’re facing a Venmo won’t let me confirm my identity situation, it’s best to contact their support team for your sake too.
Further reading:
That’s enough information about the issue “Venmo won’t let me confirm my identity.”
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