How to Use Payment Apps Without Being a Jerk
Since it’s 2020, and no one carries cash anymore and there’s a good chance you have at least one payment app on your phone. But since there’s no class on Venmo-etiquette, you may have run into a situation that has left you feeling rude on one.
The problems usually come from the in-app request features where one person can notify another that they owe some specific amount. A recent survey found that 88% of people will hold an unresolved payment request against an acquaintance, and 73% will do the same for a close friend. Meaning you’ve only earned about 15% more leeway with your friends than some rando that bought them a drink. You better pay up quick!
Timing is key when it comes to payment apps. A new study says people want requests sent the same day as the transaction, and requests to be filled within 24 hours of them being sent. But Myka Meier, author of Modern Etiquette Made Easy, says you should even wait at all. “If you are asking or requesting money back, do it as soon after it’s owed as possible.”
There’s also a fine line to walk between “asking for what is fair” and “being a total tightwad.” Ideally, splitting bills and covering costs should be agreed upon in advance by both parties. In other words, you shouldn’t be slapping someone with a request to pay for the Uber ride you said you’d “take care of.”
But I don’t think you should ever feel awkward about asking for reimbursement. If you end up footing the bill for an amount “significant enough to you that you’re thinking about it to request it” I think you should go with your gut and send out that request to make things square.
Source: Money
