What are the easiest, safest methods to send money to someone?
So I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty good at this adulting thing but I’ve never sent money to someone. Friends will talk about sending each other monety to split the cost of dinner or concert tickets or whatever but I always just pay someone in cash because I’m kind of paranoid about screwing this up and losing the money somehow. How can I send money to someone super safely?
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PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo are safe ways to send money to another person. Just confirm that you're sending the money to the right person—you'll typically need their handle or username, and most payment platforms will have you confirm the person's phone number or email address so be sure to have that info on hand.
Also, it's generally not a good idea to send money to someone you don't know. If you're purchasing something from someone (on Facebook Marketplace, for instance), meet in person in a safe location and send the money once you have the item in hand and can confirm it's in the agreed-upon condition.
Watch out for scams, as well. If someone is purchasing something from you, paying you back, or otherwise sending you money and tells you that it won't go through because you have to send them money first, do not do it. That's not how these payment platforms work, and they're likely trying to scam you out of money.
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Also, it's generally not a good idea to send money to someone you don't know. If you're purchasing something from someone (on Facebook Marketplace, for instance), meet in person in a safe location and send the money once you have the item in hand and can confirm it's in the agreed-upon condition.
Watch out for scams, as well. If someone is purchasing something from you, paying you back, or otherwise sending you money and tells you that it won't go through because you have to send them money first, do not do it. That's not how these payment platforms work, and they're likely trying to scam you out of money.
The easiest way to send money to someone would be via Zelle. Most (if not all) banks offer this option. This is safe, free, and instant for both the sender and the receiver. Funds are instantly taken from the sender's account and deposited into the receiver's bank account.
Another good option is Venmo, although with this option, funds are in your Venmo account, not in the bank. You can transfer the funds from Venmo to your bank account (usually takes a couple of days) or use your Venmo account balance to pay someone else.
Regardless of which option you use, be careful not to become a victim of a scam. There are many different schemes out there where scammers are trying to get your money.
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Another good option is Venmo, although with this option, funds are in your Venmo account, not in the bank. You can transfer the funds from Venmo to your bank account (usually takes a couple of days) or use your Venmo account balance to pay someone else.
Regardless of which option you use, be careful not to become a victim of a scam. There are many different schemes out there where scammers are trying to get your money.
PayPal is best choice this is easy and safe way to funds transfer i personally like this .
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Venmo and Paypal are established and secure. Download the app, follow the directions.
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Haven't heard anyone mention Apple Cash, Cash App, or Google Pay yet and those are also all good options
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If you're worried about messing up somehow and losing all your money, then when you connect your app of choice to your bank account, choose an account that doesn't have that much money in it. That way, in the scenario that someone gets into your account (which likely won't happen), you'll just lose that small amount of money
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Venmo is also the one my friends and I use! Haven't had any problems so far. If you're concerned about safety, just make sure you confirm the handle or username of the person you're sending money to or receiving money from and you should be good. There's also a profile picture that you can often use to visually confirm that you know the person you're interacting with.
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I also like to check the person's friends on Venmo. A lot of times we'll have friends in common or they'll have friends that I recognize, but just haven't added on Venmo yet.
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