Google Play adds Venmo as a payment option for apps and games

Google said it is adding Venmo as a payment option today on Google Play, its Android app marketplace, letting users pay for purchases including games, apps, add-ons, and other digital content with the service. Users will be able to pay using either their Venmo wallet balance or another payment method already linked to their Venmo account, such as a bank account or card, to cover app and game purchases, subscriptions, or tips to creators inside content-based apps.

To use the new option, users go to payment methods within their Google account settings and link a Venmo account, after which Venmo becomes selectable at checkout across the store. Venmo joins other digital payment methods Google Play already offers, including PayPal and Cash App, alongside cards from American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and JCB in the United States. Outside the US, Google has also experimented with letting users pay for digital purchases using cash at a nearby store, an option aimed at people without easy access to a bank card.

The addition comes as spending on mobile apps and games keeps climbing: in 2025, combined user spending across iOS and the Play Store topped $167 billion for in-app purchases, up 10.6% year-on-year, according to a report from analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Why it matters

Adding one of the most widely used peer-to-peer payment apps in the US gives Google Play a checkout option many younger US users already default to for moving money, at a moment when in-app spending is still growing faster than 10% a year and platforms are competing on how frictionless checkout feels.