Splitting the bill after a group dinner can sometimes feel like an Olympic sport. One friend ordered the expensive steak, their girlfriend stuck to a salad, and your friend Greg has been drinking expensive bourbon all night but thinks you should all just split the bill evenly.
Venmo is finally taking some of the mental gymnastics out of the equation.
The payment app is rolling out a new receipt-scanning feature this week that lets users take a photo of a receipt, automatically itemize everything on it, and assign individual charges to the people who ordered them.
How Venmo’s new receipt-scanning feature works
The new tool is built directly into the Venmo app, so users won’t need to download anything extra or switch between apps to split a bill.
To use it, open Venmo, tap the V on the home screen to start a payment, and select “Scan receipt.” From there, take a photo of the receipt or upload an existing image.
Venmo automatically identifies and itemizes the purchases. Users can then assign individual items to the appropriate people and make adjustments as needed. Once everything is assigned, Venmo calculates each person’s portion of the tax and tip and generates payment requests. The feature works regardless of which mobile device someone in the group uses.
“Splitting the bill is one of the most common things people do on Venmo, but it can also be one of the most tedious,” said Alexis Sowa, Venmo’s general manager. “With receipt scanning, a pile of math goes away with a single photo. Venmo does the heavy lifting so customers can get back to what matters: the meal, the trip, or the night out with friends.”
Gen Z is often stuck figuring out who owes what
The launch comes as new research from Venmo suggests younger adults often cover group expenses upfront and collect payments afterward.
In a survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Venmo, 40% of adults aged 18 to 22 said they’re typically the person who pays first and then collects everyone else’s share.
The research also found that people have different approaches to dividing shared expenses.
About 20% of respondents said they split bills based on exactly what each person ordered, while 15% divide the total evenly. Another 12% said they take turns paying or have different people cover different portions of the bill. Meanwhile, 11% said one person typically pays the entire bill and requests everyone’s share afterward.
The findings suggest there’s no universally accepted way to split a group bill, which may be part of what makes the process so frustrating.
It’s not just for restaurant bills
Although splitting restaurant checks is an obvious use for the feature, Venmo says receipt scanning can also help people manage other shared expenses.
Roommates, for instance, could use it to divide a grocery receipt based on who purchased which items, rather than splitting the total evenly. Friends traveling together could scan receipts from meals or shared purchases to settle expenses after a trip.
The tool also works alongside Venmo Groups, an existing feature that allows users to track shared expenses over time.
Groups is designed for situations where people regularly split costs, whether roommates manage household purchases, couples divide monthly bills, or friends track expenses during a vacation. Instead of handling every expense as a separate transaction, users can see shared spending in one place and settle up when they’re ready.
When will Venmo’s receipt-scanning feature be available?
Venmo says the feature is rolling out now, with wider availability expected over the next several weeks. That means some users may see the option before others.
The launch is part of a broader Venmo app update designed to make its payment and financial features easier to find and use.
Other features highlighted in the updated app include scheduling recurring payments, such as monthly rent, and earning rewards through Venmo Stash.
For anyone who’s ever spent 15 minutes after dinner trying to figure out who owes $23.47, the new receipt scanner could be a welcome addition. The only thing it can’t do is persuade your friend to actually pay you back.