Google Play enables Venmo payments for apps and subscriptions
Developed over time first seen 3 months ago
Google has added Venmo as a payment option on Google Play, letting users pay for apps, games, in-app purchases and other digital content through the service. The move, effective from 10 August 2026, expands the range of payment methods available on the platform and reflects continued growth in consumer spending on mobile apps and games.
Users can pay via Venmo's own wallet or through payment methods linked to it, such as bank accounts and cards, and can also use it to pay for subscriptions or tip creators within content-based apps; linking is done through the payment methods section of account settings. Venmo joins existing options including PayPal, Cash App and major card providers such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express, with Google also having trialled cash payments at local stores outside the US. The addition comes as global app spending continues to climb, with analytics firm Sensor Tower reporting that combined iOS and Play Store user spend on in-app purchases exceeded $167 billion in 2025, up 10.6% year-on-year.
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In short
- Google Play now supports Venmo for app and in-app payments
- Users can pay via Venmo wallet, bank accounts or linked cards
- Change comes as global app spending topped $167bn in 2025
How this story developed
- 3 months ago The rollout details were reaffirmed with a narrower list of card partners, now naming just Visa and Mastercard rather than also citing American Express, while otherwise confirming the same Venmo wallet functionality, linked-account options and $167 billion 2025 spending figure from Sensor Tower.
- 3 months ago Google confirmed it has added Venmo as a Google Play payment option from 10 August 2026, letting US users pay for apps, games and in-app purchases via Venmo's wallet or linked bank accounts and cards, alongside existing methods such as PayPal, Cash App and major card networks, as Sensor Tower reported 2025 global app spend topped $167 billion.
Explained simply
Google has expanded how people can pay for things on Google Play, its app store for Android devices, where users buy apps, games and extras such as in-game items or subscriptions. Alongside existing options such as PayPal, Cash App and standard debit or credit cards, shoppers can now also use Venmo, a US-based digital payment service that lets people pay from a linked bank account, card or their own Venmo balance.
Venmo is owned by PayPal and is widely used in the United States for sending money between friends and family, as well as for everyday purchases. Bringing it into Google Play means its users can now put it toward app purchases, subscriptions and even tipping content creators, without needing to enter card details separately.
The change reflects how much money now flows through mobile apps, with global spending on in-app purchases having grown significantly in recent years. Payment providers see mobile app stores as an important market, and platforms such as Google Play regularly add new ways to pay in order to make buying easier and capture more of that spending.
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Originally published by TechCrunch as “Google Play adds Venmo as a payment option”.