The Attorney General provides Consumer Alerts to inform the public of unfair, misleading, or deceptive business practices, and to provide information and guidance on other issues of concern. Consumer Alerts are not legal advice, legal authority, or a binding legal opinion from the Department of Attorney General.
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Have you used payment apps like Venmo, Zelle, or CashApp?
To keep your money safe, never send money to someone you don’t know personally. Using these apps is like sending cash. If you send money to somebody who says they’re a friend, family member, or business you trust it’s hard to get it back once you find out it wasn’t really them.
Have the words “I will Venmo you” or “Google Pay me” ever come out of your mouth? Mobile technology and peer-to-peer (P2P) apps like Venmo and Google Pay are changing how people exchange money - and words like cashless and contactless have entered our world.
P2P payment services are apps that require both parties to have an active user account and each account must be tied to a bank or credit card account. Once created, the pay app allows users to send money to other users by searching for their phone number, email address, or username. The money is instantly transferred electronically, and the transactions are usually free.