In July 2025, a claim circulated online that people could use mobile payment app Venmo to help reduce the U.S. national debt, which, as of this writing, is
For example, one X post (archived) that had amassed more than 6.5 million views as of this writing said people "can venmo the United States to help pay off the national debt."
(X user @jackcorrbit)
The rumor also appeared on other platforms, including TikTok (archived), Threads (archived) and Reddit (archived).
The X post included a screenshot of the alleged website people could use to submit contributions, which featured various payment methods, including Venmo, PayPal, bank transactions or debit or credit card payments.
(pay.gov)
In short, the claim is true and the webpage is real. Pay.gov (archived) is an official website of the U.S. government, as indicated in the top left hand corner of the webpage.
When a visitor to the page finishes filling out the form, the site directs them to select an option for payment.
Snopes contacted the U.S. Treasury seeking context surrounding the decision to include Venmo as an option, which, according to archived versions of the page, was a relatively new addition as of this writing. We will update this story if we receive a response.
The earliest archived version of the page, found using internet archiving tool Wayback Machine, is from September 2014 and shows debit or credit card, PayPal and direct bank account payments as options. Meanwhile, before Venmo appeared on the site, "Amazon account" featured as recently as Feb. 22, 2025.
It is not clear when exactly Venmo was added; however, it appeared as an option on an archived version of the page from March 8, 2025. Therefore, it would have been added between late February and early March.
Catalis, a cloud-based payment platform, integrated Venmo and facilitated the government partnership. Catalis Regional Vice President Robin Sawh wrote in May 2025 (archived):
For citizens, Venmo represents speed, simplicity, and trust—qualities they increasingly expect when interacting with both private businesses and public services. By embracing this familiarity, governments can remove friction from the payment process and offer a more engaging citizen experience.
Public donations represent a negligible fraction of total national debt. In fiscal year 2022, the total amount of publicly donated gifts toward the national debt stood at $180,310.32, according to TreasuryDirect.gov, another official government site (archived).