Digital mobile wallets have changed the way to pay for things we need. Gone are the days when we needed to carry a physical wallet and dig into it for cash to hand over to the cashier.
A mobile wallet or a virtual wallet is essentially a mobile application that can be installed on a smartphone or comes as a built-in feature of a smartphone. It stores your payment card information, coupons, rewards cards, loyalty card numbers.
Mobile wallets are a convenient payment method for in-store purchases, online purchases, bill payments, booking flights, money transfers, and various other transactions.
Perhaps the most convenient usage is peer-to-peer payments. You can transfer money directly to your friends and family or vice versa from an app on your mobile phone. There are plenty of mobile wallets for sending and receiving money from friends and family such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Paypal, Samsung Pay, Venmo, etc.
Whenever you receive payments through a mobile wallet app, most apps store the money in your app account while for some apps like Zelle and Google Pay, the money sent goes directly to your bank account at zero cost. Some apps, like Venmo, charge money for such transactions (more on this later).
In this blog, we will discuss the step-by-step process of transferring funds from mobile wallets to your bank account.
In the case of Venmo, the money sent to you goes to your Venmo account, hence you will need to initiate a bank transfer for the funds to be sent to your bank account.
Firstly, you will have to add your bank account and verify it. The verification process is highly recommended to ensure that the money arrives successfully in your bank account.
Keep in mind that Venmo takes no responsibility for lost transfers to banks due to errors in the entry of bank credentials.
To add a bank account through the Venmo app, follow the following steps:
 If you are using the old version of the Venmo app (with the icon in the top right), the steps are:
If you are on the new Venmo app (without the icon), the steps are:
There are two ways to send the money in your Venmo account to your bank:
The instant transfer is a feature available to you when you want to move the money to your bank account quickly, usually within 30 minutes. You can also send the money to eligible Visa and Master debit cards. However, it comes with a 1.5% fee (a minimum fee of $0.25 and a maximum fee of $15), which will be deducted from the transfer amount for each transaction.
With the standard method, the transfer occurs in 1-3 business days but has no fee.
If you are on the old version of the Venmo app, tap the icon on the top of your transactions feed and tap on "Transfer Money" or "Transfer Balance" (or tap 'Manage Balance" and then "Transfer to Bank"). Then, proceed with the following steps:
If you are on the new version of the Venmo app, go to the "You" tab by selecting the single person icon. Then tap the "Add or Transfer" button under your profile picture. Then, follow the above 1-4 steps to transfer your money.
Do keep in mind that the transfers are reviewed which may cause a delay or the money to be frozen or removed from your Venmo account.
You can receive money into your PayPal account even without a bank account. However, linking your bank account/debit card is necessary to enable money transfer from your Paypal balance to your bank account or debit card.
The benefit of linking your bank account to your PayPal account is that it automatically becomes the main funding source in case you didn't select your preferred payment method or if your preferred payment method is not available or if there are no sufficient funds in your Paypal balance to cover for a transaction. You can also track your spending once your bank account gets linked to your PayPal account.
Similar to Venmo, you can choose Standard transfer (free but done in 1-3 business days) or Instant transfer (1% fee on the amount within 30 minutes).
Here are the steps to transfer money from your PayPal App to your bank account:
With Zelle, the money moves from one bank account to another bank account at zero charges. The bank account, however, should be in the U.S.
If your bank or credit union offers Zelle, the app comes integrated with your mobile banking app. The Zelle standalone app is also available for download on your smartphone.
Zelle doesn't have a separate balance for holding the money you sent to your Zelle account. If you are already enrolled with Zelle, the money is delivered directly to your bank account in minutes.
If you are not enrolled with the app, follow the following steps:
You will need to create your Zelle profile within 14 days of receiving the payment notification to receive the money. Once enrolled, the money is sent to the bank account associated with your Zelle profile.
Apple Cash is a built-in feature in the Apple Pay platform that allows you to send, receive and request money in the iMessages.
When you receive money from your contact, the money is kept in the Apple Cash card in the Wallet app of your iPhone, Apple Watch, or other compatible devices.
You can use this cash to make in-app and online purchases or spend with Apple Pay, use it to send to someone, or transfer the balance to your bank account or eligible debit card.
The money transfer from your Apple Cash card to your bank account can be done within 1 to 3 business days at no charge or instantly to a Visa debit card with a 1% fee.
Here are the steps to transfer from your Apple Cash to your bank account
Transferring money from your digital wallet app to your bank account is a straightforward process. Depending on the app and the transfer method, there are varying charges.
The instant method comes with a cost but the money moves quickly. If you are not in a hurry and don't mind a longer transfer process, go for the standard method that has 0 fees.
If you are sending money internationally, use a specialized money transfer service provider such as Xoom, Xe.com, and Remitly to get the best exchange rates and lower transfer fees.