Consumer complaint received 2025-05-11 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
Subject : Complaint Against Venmo Regarding Unexplained Account Closure - Account Associated with [ XXXX and XXXX ] I. My Contact Information : My Name : XXXX XXXX My Address : XXXX North XXXX Terrace, APT XXXX, XXXX, IL, XXXX My Phone Number : XXXX My Email Address : XXXX II. Company I Am Complaining About : Company Name : Venmo ( a service of XXXX XXXX XXXX ) Company Website : venmo.com Account Identifier : My Venmo account is associated with XXXX and/or XXXX. 
XXXX. Financial Product or Service Involved : Product/Service : Money Transfer XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Payment Platform IV. Description of the Problem : I am a long-time Venmo customer, having used the service for many years without any prior issues. My primary use for Venmo is to pay my monthly rent to my landlord, and I also use it for various valid personal transactions, such as reimbursing family members or friends for shared expenses like dinners, cell phone bills, or subscriptions. 
On or around XX/XX/year>, I attempted to send money to a friend. Upon opening the Venmo app, I discovered that my account had been permanently closed without any prior warning or specific explanation. 
On XX/XX/year>, while attempting to understand the situation, I received what appeared to be an automated email from Venmo. This email stated that my account had been suspended due to " some unusual activity linked to my Venmo account which XXXX be in violation of our user agreement. '' The email did not specify which part of the user agreement I had allegedly violated or what the unusual activity was. It further stated that my account would remain suspended until they heard back from me and that I would receive a separate email with more information. To " help protect my account, '' I was instructed to submit a picture of my photo identification via their document upload form, which I promptly did on the same day, XX/XX/year>. I also followed up to inquire about the reason for my account closure. 
On XX/XX/year>, I received an email response from Venmo. This email stated that " their system is in place on Venmo, '' but that " they do not reveal information about how their systems monitor accounts and close them. '' They claimed that " when they take actions on accounts as we did in my situation, they do so to ensure a secure '' platform. They apologized and stated they were " no longer able to serve me '' and for the " limited nature of the answer. '' Later on XX/XX/year>, I received another email from Venmo. This email vaguely stated that " it's their sole discretion that I XXXX have breached our terms or that my activity XXXX present an active risk or security concerns '' ( emphasis added ) and that " therefore they've closed my accounts. '' Crucially, Venmo did not confirm that I actually committed a breach of terms, only that I XXXX have. 
At no point during my many years as a Venmo customer have I ever received any prior notification, warning, or indication that any of my activities were considered a potential breach of their terms of service. 
This sudden and unexplained permanent closure of my account is causing a significant burden. Venmo is the sole method by which I pay my rent to my landlord, and I am now unsure how I will be able to make my next rent payment. Furthermore, I am unable to use the service for legitimate and routine transactions with friends and family. 
V. What I Have Done to Try to Resolve This Issue Directly with the Company : On XX/XX/year> : Promptly submitted my photo identification as requested by Venmo XXXX 
On XX/XX/year> : Emailed Venmo customer support asking for a specific reason for the account closure. 
On XX/XX/year> : Received XXXX separate email responses from Venmo ( as detailed above ), neither of which provided a specific reason for the closure, citing security systems and their sole discretion without detailing any actual violation on my part.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation