Venmo Class Action: Washington Unsolicited Referral Texts Investigation

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether Venmo is breaking a Washington anti-spam law that protects residents against unsolicited text messages.

Specifically, they’re looking into whether the mobile payment app’s text referral program—in which an existing user is incentivized to send promotional messages to their contacts—violates Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA). This law makes it illegal for a company to send (or help send) promotional texts to residents without their permission.

As part of their investigation, the attorneys need to hear from Washington residents who’ve received a referral text about joining or using Venmo from a friend or family member.

Under the CEMA, those who receive illegal, unsolicited texts can seek up to $500 per violation.

What Is the Washington CEMA?

The Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) is a state-specific consumer protection law originally passed in 1998 to cut down on unwanted, misleading or otherwise “spammy” emails. In 2003, the law was amended to include provisions to limit the transmission of unsolicited promotional text messages to Washington residents’ cell phones.

The CEMA specifically states that companies are prohibited from initiating or assisting in the transmission of promotional text messages unless the recipient has “clearly and affirmatively consented in advance to receive these text messages.” 

How Could a Text About Joining Venmo Violate Washington Law?

Attorneys believe that if Venmo initiated or helped users send promotional texts to friends or family without first getting recipients’ consent, the messages could be illegal under Washington law.

Venmo’s Refer a Friend program works like this: users are able to earn a cash bonus if someone uses their unique referral link to sign up for Venmo and then makes a qualifying payment. Users can send refer-a-friend texts directly from the Venmo app, which provides a list of the user’s contacts and generates a referral link text with the tap of a button.

Venmo refer-a-friend messages may read something like this:

Hi! Did you know you can use Venmo to send money, shop, and even earn rewards? We’ll both earn $5 when you send at least $5 to another person on Venmo using a funding source linked to your account. Expires in 14 days. Tap this referral link to start: [link]”

Other referral texts may just state, “Tap to join Venmo: [link]”

These messages will appear in the same inbox as the recipient’s otherwise private conversation with the sender.

Past Settlements Under the Washington Spam Text Law

A handful of proposed class action lawsuits involving violations of the CEMA have resulted in settlements for Washington residents.

For instance, in February 2024, a $9 million settlement was approved to resolve claims that Robinhood Financial broke the CEMA with its refer-a-friend text message program. Additionally, in mid-2025, Block, Inc. agreed to pay a $12.5 million settlement to resolve a proposed class action lawsuit that alleged the company violated the CEMA by incentivizing users to send unsolicited text messages to state residents through Cash App’s “Invite Friends” referral program.

How Could a Venmo Class Action Lawsuit Help?

If filed and successful, a class action lawsuit could help Washington residents who received unsolicited Venmo referral texts recover money for the messages. It could also force Venmo to change how its Refer a Friend text program operates in Washington.  

Got a Venmo Referral Text? Take Action

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org need to hear from Washington residents who received a Venmo referral text from a friend or family member as part of their investigation.

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