In a move that will streamline how millions of people move money, Venmo and PayPal are rolling out true interoperability beginning November 2025, allowing users on one platform to send money directly to the other by entering a phone number (and later email) — a longtime friction point given PayPal’s ownership of Venmo but lack of native account connection. This step is part of the broader “PayPal World” initiative, which aims to connect PayPal and Venmo with other global digital wallets such as Mercado Pago, India’s UPI, and China’s Tenpay to expand seamless cross-border payments. PayPal officially introduced PayPal World in July, describing it as a global payments platform built to link major wallets and enable users to transact across borders using their domestic wallet systems. Industry observers note that Venmo’s integration with PayPal will let Venmo users shop at merchants that accept PayPal (starting in 2026) and broaden PayPal’s two-sided network by giving merchants access to Venmo’s younger and urban user base.
Sources: PayPal, Pyments.com
Key Takeaways
– Users of Venmo and PayPal will be able to send money directly between the two platforms starting in November 2025, eliminating awkward workarounds and unifying what had been two disconnected systems.
– The interoperability is part of a larger push under PayPal World, a global payments initiative that ties together multiple regional and international wallets (e.g. UPI, Mercado Pago, Tenpay) into a single network.
– Beyond peer-to-peer transfers, the integration will extend to commerce: beginning in 2026, Venmo users will gain access to merchants already accepting PayPal, and merchants will be able to reach Venmo’s user base more easily.
In-Depth
For years, users have griped over the irony that Venmo and PayPal—two platforms under the same corporate umbrella—couldn’t reliably transact with each other. You’d have to jump through hoops like withdrawing from one to a bank and then redepositing into the other. That changes starting this November, when Venmo and PayPal roll out native interoperability: enter someone’s phone number (and eventually email) from either app, and you can send them money directly. That’s going to be a liberating shift for users who juggle both services.
This initiative doesn’t stand alone. It’s embedded in a bigger vision PayPal is calling PayPal World. Launched publicly in July 2025, PayPal World is designed to knit together global payment systems and digital wallets into a unified network. The first phase includes linking PayPal with Venmo, but also connecting with regional heavyweights like India’s UPI (via NPCI), Latin America’s Mercado Pago, and China’s Tenpay. The idea is that users in one country can transact with someone using a different wallet or payment system without the usual pain of currency conversions, interface mismatch, or gateway fees.
The business logic behind this is strong. For consumers, it means less friction — send money cross-border as easily as you text. For merchants, it means tapping into Venmo’s urban, digitally native audience without extra integration work. Indeed, by 2026, Venmo users will be able to shop at millions of merchants that accept PayPal. On PayPal’s side, the move increases the “network effect” of its two pillars (PayPal + Venmo) and strengthens its position in cross-border payments, which is an increasingly contested space.
Of course, interoperability introduces challenges. Privacy settings must be managed (users may not want to be findable across both services), security vectors increase with more paths, and regulatory regimes differ across regions. But early signs suggest PayPal is aware: its rollout language emphasizes careful integration, and partners are being added gradually.
From a strategic standpoint, this is also a play to stay ahead in the evolving payments landscape. As digital wallets, central bank digital currencies, and more agile fintechs emerge, platforms that can seamlessly connect with others—and lower barriers for users and merchants—will have the edge.
At the end of the day, for users, it’s a net win: no more workaround transfers, and simpler money movement across platforms. For PayPal, it’s a bet that creating a broader, more connected payments web will yield richness in volume and relevance. Time will tell how smoothly the rollout goes and how eager users are to adopt the integrated experience — but this is one of the more consequential payments moves we’ve seen in years.