You Can Now Venmo the Government to Help Pay Off National Debt
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The federal government will accept Venmo payments from citizens who want to help pay off the national debt.
The Treasury has begun accepting Venmo transactions as contributions toward the national debt, which currently stands at $36 trillion.
Newsweek contacted the Treasury for more information on the decision via email.
The Context
The United States national debt surpassed $34 trillion in 2024, raising ongoing questions about deficit spending and fiscal policy. Amid these concerns, the U.S. Treasury has expanded citizens' options for making voluntary payments to reduce the public debt—including digital payment methods such as Venmo.
This adaptation signals a shift toward digital-first government services and highlights efforts to engage younger, tech-savvy Americans in public finance, a group that the second Trump administration is keen to appeal to.
Payment apps like PayPal and Venmo are seen on an iPhone on top of Form 1099-k, Portland, OR, Jan 5, 2022:
Payment apps like PayPal and Venmo are seen on an iPhone on top of Form 1099-k, Portland, OR, Jan 5, 2022:
Getty Images
What To Know
The Bureau of the Fiscal Service, part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, allows individuals to make voluntary contributions to help reduce the public debt.
Gifts can be made via U.S. government platforms such as Pay.gov, with payments accepted in the form of money, outstanding government obligations, or other intangible personal property, according to TreasuryDirect.gov.
you can venmo the United States to help pay off the national debt pic.twitter.com/UBfSvbAIx0 — Jack Corbett (@jackcorrbit) July 23, 2025
After discussions in May, citizens can also now use modern digital payment tools including PayPal and Venmo to facilitate these transactions alongside more traditional methods such as credit cards or direct transfers.
To contribute, individuals can visit the Pay.gov portal and select their payment method. On Pay.gov, users can fill out the required forms and submit donations using Venmo, enabling real-time payments from their mobile devices.
The Treasury's monthly reports indicate that such gifts remain modest in scale; in fiscal year 2022, Americans contributed a total of $180,310.32 in voluntary donations toward reducing the national debt.
What People Are Saying
The Venmo Help Center's policy page on government payment reads: "Your Venmo Direct Deposit account can be used to receive Direct Deposit funds from many sources, including the government.
"You can provide your Venmo Direct Deposit account number to the government for unemployment payments, tax refunds, Social Security payments, and more. Venmo's Direct Deposit feature allows for recurring payments, such as unemployment funds, or one-time payments, such as tax returns.
"When providing your Direct Deposit details to an employer or other issuer, please be sure to confirm your account and routing numbers as they appear in your Venmo app."
Rabin Sawh, Regional Vice President of Catalis Payments, said in May: "Offering Venmo as a payment option indicates that governments understand and respect these preferences, making it easier for constituents to interact with civic systems online."
What Happens Next
The growing adoption of mobile payment methods by public agencies may pave the way for further digitization of government services and increased transparency in public finance.
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