Can a Teenager Use Venmo or Cash App?
Short answer
Not on their own. Venmo, Cash App and PayPal all require an individual account holder to be at least 18, or the age of majority in their state. Venmo and Cash App both offer accounts for teenagers aged 13 to 17, but only through a parent or guardian, who legally owns the money and is responsible for what happens in the account. The two work differently: a Venmo Teen Account is a sub-account of the parent’s Venmo that the parent can see into fully, while a Cash App sponsored account lets the teenager spend without asking first.
The short answer
No, not with a normal account. The Venmo User Agreement says a personal account holder must be at least 18 or the age of majority in their state. The Cash App Terms of Service and the PayPal User Agreement set the same floor.
What a 13 to 17 year old can have is an account that hangs off a parent’s. Venmo calls it a Teen Account. Cash App calls it a sponsored account. In both, the parent is the legal owner of the money and carries responsibility for what the teenager does with it. The real choice for a family is how much independence the teenager gets, because that is where the two apps differ.
How a Venmo Teen Account works
Under the Venmo User Agreement, a Teen Account is “a sub-account linked to your personal account” for someone aged 13 to 17 when it is opened. You need your own Venmo account with your identity verified before you can open one.
The main points from the agreement and Venmo’s Teen Debit Card page:
- Either of you can start it, but you approve it. If the teenager begins sign-up, a parent or guardian who is 18 or older and has a Venmo account must review and approve it.
- The money is yours. The agreement says funds in a Teen Account, including paychecks paid in by Direct Deposit, are owned by the parent. Anything the teenager does in the account is treated as your activity.
- You see everything. You can view the balance, every transaction and the account statements from your own app, get activity notifications, and lock the card at any time. Teen payments are private by default, and privacy settings are controlled from the parent side.
- The teenager gets a card and limited app access. The Teen Debit Card is a Mastercard. Venmo says there is no application fee, no monthly fee and no minimum balance. Withdrawals at non-MoneyPass ATMs and ATMs outside the US carry a $2.50 fee, and ATM operators may add their own.
- Some things are switched off. Teen Accounts cannot receive payments for goods and services, open a business profile, or buy, sell or hold cryptocurrency. Venmo also restricts them at certain merchants and merchant categories.
- Disputes go through you. The agreement says the teenager cannot file or respond to claims or disputes in the app. You do that.
If you close a Teen Account, the agreement says any balance moves to your personal account.
How a Cash App sponsored account works
Cash App’s version gives the teenager their own account and app, with you as the sponsor. The Cash App Terms of Service say a sponsor must be the teenager’s biological or adoptive parent or guardian. “Guardian” means a legal guardian and, where the law allows, a foster parent, or a stepparent or grandparent living in the same household. The sponsor must be at least 15 years older than the teenager.
What stands out in the terms:
- The teenager acts without asking you first. The terms say the teen can access, use and withdraw the money “without prior transaction approval from, or notice to, you,” and that you may not be able to make transactions from the teen’s account yourself.
- You are still the legal owner. The terms make the sponsor the owner of the account and responsible for its transactions, fees and any tax that comes from it.
- You get oversight after the fact, and limits. The Cash App families page says sponsors can monitor balances, real-time transactions and spending history, set spending limits and where money can be spent, approve contacts, and get transaction alerts.
- Taking it back does not return the money. If your sponsorship is withdrawn, the terms say the money stays in the teen’s account, most features may be limited, and the teen can still withdraw to a linked account. The teen may ask for a new sponsor.
Cash App says there are no monthly fees, subscription costs or minimum balance for sponsored teen accounts.
Venmo and Cash App side by side
| Venmo Teen Account | Cash App sponsored account | |
|---|---|---|
| Ages | 13 to 17 when opened | 13 and over, until 18 |
| Who can set it up | Parent or legal guardian with a verified Venmo account | Parent or guardian as defined in the terms, at least 15 years older than the teen |
| Who owns the money | The parent | The sponsor |
| Teen spends without approval | Yes, within Venmo’s daily and weekly limits | Yes, within limits the parent sets |
| Parent sets dollar limits | No | Yes |
| Parent sees transactions | Yes, all of them | Yes |
| If the parent closes or withdraws | Balance moves to the parent | Balance stays with the teen |
| At 18 | Teen may convert it to their own account, subject to conditions and approval | Teen verifies identity and becomes the sole owner |
The table reflects the terms as published on the dates in the sources list. Both companies can change features at any time, and both agreements say so.
Where the money actually sits
Neither Venmo nor Cash App is a bank. Venmo says teen card balances in US dollars are held at partner banks and are, subject to conditions, eligible for pass-through FDIC insurance up to $250,000 at each bank. Cash App’s terms say sponsored and sponsor balances are eligible for pass-through insurance at its partner banks up to $250,000 per customer, if certain conditions are met. In both cases that insurance covers a partner bank failing, not the app freezing an account or a payment the teenager regrets.
The longer explanation of what that does and does not protect is in how to open a bank account for a minor. My view is the same as on that page: treat an app balance like cash in a pocket, and keep savings at a bank.
What this looks like
This is an illustration, not a real family. Leah is 15 and her parent opens a Venmo Teen Account so friends can pay her back for movie tickets. Her parent sends $25 a week and can see every purchase. One month Leah wants to sell an old pair of sneakers to someone she does not know from an online group, and asks to be paid on Venmo.
That is the kind of payment the Venmo agreement rules out. Teen Accounts cannot receive goods and services payments, and the agreement names sneakers as an example of something not to buy or sell with people you do not personally know. Her parent handles the sale another way and uses it as the moment to go through the common scams that target teenagers, including the marketplace and payment app scams that begin with a sale like this one.
Before you set one up
- Decide what the account is for. Paying friends back is what both apps are built for. Running a small business is not what a Venmo Teen Account allows.
- Pick the level of independence. Venmo keeps you inside every transaction. Cash App gives the teenager the controls and gives you visibility and limits.
- Read the teen section of the user agreement or terms yourself. It is where ownership, disputes and the age-18 rules are written down.
- Agree what happens with money from a job or side work. Paychecks and earnings belong in a bank account, and earnings can have tax rules of their own, covered in babysitting, mowing and taxes.
- Talk about what the card is for before it arrives. The readiness questions in what age a teen should get a debit card apply to app cards too.
Both apps change their teen products from time to time. If a detail here matters to your decision, check the current terms linked below before you sign up.
Common questions
Can my teenager take payment for babysitting or selling things on a Venmo Teen Account?
Be careful here. The Venmo User Agreement says Teen Accounts cannot receive payments for goods and services or open a business profile. It also bars personal and Teen Accounts from paying or accepting payment for goods or services from people the user does not personally know, and it gives sneakers, concert tickets and dog walking as examples. For a teenager with paying customers, I would ask Venmo before relying on the Teen Account, or have the money paid into a bank account instead.
Can I set a spending limit?
On Cash App, yes. Its families page says parents decide how much a teen can spend and where, and can change those limits at any time. On Venmo, no. Venmo says Teen Accounts have their own daily and weekly limits, but parents cannot set a custom dollar limit. You control the amount by deciding how much to send, and you can lock the card from your app.
Can my teenager's paycheck go into a Venmo Teen Account?
Yes. The Venmo User Agreement allows Direct Deposit from an employer into a Teen Account, using the account and routing numbers shown for the Teen Account. It also says those funds are owned by the parent, not the teenager. A Teen Account cannot receive tax refunds or other federal or state government payments by Direct Deposit.
What happens when my teenager turns 18?
On Venmo, the teen can choose to convert the Teen Account into their own personal account, if it has been open at least a year, is in good standing and has no unresolved disputes, and Venmo approves. You stay responsible for transactions from before the switch. On Cash App, the teen verifies their identity and becomes the sole owner of the account and the money in it. If Cash App cannot verify them, it may restrict or close the account.
Can a teenager use PayPal?
Not with their own account. PayPal’s US user agreement requires an individual to be at least 18, or the age of majority in their state, to open an account. Venmo Teen Accounts also cannot send money to or receive money from PayPal accounts.