PayPal-owned Venmo faces scrutiny for its collection practices
by
Christopher Hutton
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The mobile finance app Venmo recently drew attention due to a recent regulatory filing that takes a closer look at the company's collection practices. The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau filed a Civil Investigative Demand against Venmo's owner, PayPal, on Jan. 21. The filing states that its intent to take an extended look at Venmo's practices is "related to Venmo's unauthorized funds' transfers and collection processes, and related matters."
The process in question involves the app's handling of collections. Suppose an account overdraws too much money. In that case, Venmo would hand it over to the bank's collections account. This overdrawing of funds can happen, particularly in large purchases. The funds transferring may require a day to move from the user's bank account to the other party. That means that Venmo has to cover the specific money transferred between accounts until the bank can transfer the funds to the account. If the bank account does not have the funds in question, Venmo will try to recoup the financial quantity taken in the first place.