Venmo Groups, Revolut Group Bills and Monzo Split: when a bank's split is enough
Venmo, Revolut and Monzo now keep running group balances, Cash App and PayPal gather money into pots, and Apple splits one receipt at a time. Each works when everyone banks in the same place and spends one currency; here is where that stops.
Six banks and wallets now split bills inside their own apps. Venmo Groups, Revolut Group Bills and Monzo Split keep a running ledger; Cash App Pools and PayPal's pools gather money into a pot; Apple Cash splits one receipt at a time. They fit a group where everyone banks in the same place and spends in one currency. A mixed group, a second currency or a person with no account is where a ledger app like Dimesum starts.
This page sets the six side by side, with the date each went live and whether it works for people outside it, from our market research in August 2026 and each company's own announcement. We describe each feature and leave the verdict to your group. Dimesum is ours and is in the first row so you can read it with that in mind.
| Feature | What it keeps | Live since | People outside it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimesum | A running ledger, every balance in its own currency, up to 50 people | Web app live; phone apps in closed testing | Yes, by link, QR code or a kept place |
| Venmo Groups | A running ledger with simplified balances, up to 30 people | 14 November 2023 | No; United States only, and everyone needs Venmo |
| Revolut Group Bills | A running ledger for 2 to 20 people, settled with Smart Settle | 19 August 2020 | Yes, by a web link, since about mid 2025 |
| Monzo Split | A running ledger with no limit on expenses, and part payments | Rebuilt 24 March 2025 | Yes; guests join by link with no Monzo account or UK address |
| Cash App Pools | A pot with a target, not a ledger | 29 July 2025 | Yes, by link |
| PayPal pools | A pot, not a ledger; closed in 2021 and relaunched | 2017; relaunched 14 November 2024 | Yes |
| Apple Cash receipt split | One receipt at a time, item by item | Announced June 2026, ships with iOS 27 in autumn 2026 | No; United States only, on Apple devices |
The trap every one of these sits on one side of
Our research put the structure of this category in one sentence. The app that keeps track of the debt cannot move the money, and the app that moves the money tends to keep a thin record of the debt.
Revolut and Monzo are the two that close that loop, and they do it by already being banks. The group's ledger and the transfer that clears it sit in the same app. Everyone else is on one side or the other, and Splitwise is now crossing over too, with a US wallet and a debit card from Coastal Community Bank.
Dimesum sits on the record keeping side, deliberately. We never hold or move money. When someone settles, Dimesum offers a door to the other person's own way of being paid, such as Revolut, Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, Wise, Zelle or an IBAN, and the group records the payment for the other person to confirm. The settle up guide shows how a group clears in a few transfers.
A running ledger and a pot are different tools
Three of these keep a ledger: a running record of who paid what, who owes whom, and how that changes bill by bill. Venmo Groups does it for up to 30 people and simplifies the balances. Revolut Group Bills does it for 2 to 20 people. Monzo Split does it with no limit on how many expenses go in, and lets someone pay back part of what they owe.
Two are pots. Cash App Pools, which arrived on 29 July 2025, and PayPal's pools gather money towards a target, such as a gift or a shared booking. PayPal's newsroom announced the relaunch on 14 November 2024, after the original 2017 feature closed in 2021. A pot answers "who has chipped in", which is a different question from "who owes whom after six dinners".
Apple's is a third shape. Apple announced it in June 2026 for iOS 27: scan a receipt, pick your items, and your share of tax and tip comes with them, paid with Apple Cash. It handles one receipt at a time and keeps no running balance. For splitting a single restaurant bill by item, our apps that split a bill by item post covers the alternatives, and how to split a restaurant bill fairly covers the arithmetic.
Who can join is where most groups find the edge
A bank's split feature is built for the bank's customers. The question for your group is what happens to the person who isn't one.
- Venmo Groups: everyone needs Venmo, and Venmo is in the United States only. Venmo's launch announcement dates it to 14 November 2023.
- Revolut Group Bills: launched on 19 August 2020, as FinTech Global reported, and since about mid 2025 people without Revolut can take part through a web link at groupbills.revolut.com.
- Monzo Split: Monzo's own page says friends can join as guests by link, even if they don't live in the UK or bank with Monzo.
- Cash App Pools and PayPal's pools: Cash App takes contributions by link, and PayPal's pools also accept people outside PayPal.
- Apple Cash receipt split: Apple devices and Apple Cash, in the United States.
Dimesum's answer is a kept place: a named seat for someone with no account, which holds their balance until they open the link and claim it. Someone without the app can also take a seat on a single bill from a link or QR code. Our guide to splitting a bill with someone who doesn't have the app walks through both.
One bank and one currency: where it stops
Here is a group that no single bank holds. Emma banks with Monzo in London, and Lucas uses Revolut in Berlin.
Noah uses Venmo in Chicago. Aiko lives in Osaka and pays for most things in cash.
They meet for a long weekend that runs from New York to Tokyo. Noah pays $200 for a dinner in New York, split four ways. Aiko pays ¥20,000 for a karaoke room in Tokyo, split four ways.
| Person | Banks with | Dollar balance | Yen balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noah | Venmo | +$150 | −¥5,000 |
| Aiko | Cash | −$50 | +¥15,000 |
| Emma | Monzo | −$50 | −¥5,000 |
| Lucas | Revolut | −$50 | −¥5,000 |
Each column sums to zero. Noah is owed $150. Aiko is owed ¥15,000. Everyone else owes $50 and ¥5,000, and Noah and Aiko each owe the other's currency.
Venmo Groups cannot hold this group: three of the four live outside the United States, and Venmo is US only. Revolut and Monzo can bring guests in, so the question becomes the currencies. Our research did not test how any bank's feature handles two currencies in one group, so we make no claim about it. Ask the bank before the trip, not after.
Dimesum keeps the dollars and the yen as two balances and settles each in at most three transfers, so Emma, Lucas and Aiko pay Noah $50 each and Emma, Lucas and Noah pay Aiko ¥5,000 each, each through whatever they already use. Our post on multi-currency money bugs explains what goes wrong when a ledger folds currencies early, and multi-currency expense splitting apps compares the apps built for it.
What each one costs
Two of the banks state their price plainly. Revolut's Group Bills terms state: "We do not currently charge a fee for the use of Group Bills." Monzo advertises "No paywalls or ads" on Split, and keeps its own feature grid against Splitwise's free tier, footnoted "as of 18/03/2026".
That fits the model. A bank's split feature is paid for by the bank's own business, which is why it can be free.
Dimesum's ledger is free too, with no daily limit on bills, and it holds no money at all. A stand-alone app with a subscription is the other shape, and our post on the Splitwise daily expense limit covers the daily cap Splitwise documents on its free tier.
When a bank's split is enough
These are conditions, stated as facts, not recommendations. If your group matches one, the bank's feature may be all it needs.
- Everyone is in the United States, already uses Venmo, and the group is 30 people or fewer.
- Everyone, or everyone who pays, banks with Revolut, the group is 20 people or fewer, and the others are happy joining by web link.
- One of you banks with Monzo, and the rest are happy to join as guests by link.
- You are collecting towards one target, a gift or a deposit, and nobody needs a running balance afterwards.
- It is one restaurant bill, everyone has an iPhone and Apple Cash in the United States, and iOS 27 is out.
When none of these fits, that is the group a ledger app is for. Our Splitwise alternatives, Tricount alternatives and Splid and Settle Up alternatives pages rank the stand-alone apps, and bill splitting apps compared covers the wider field.
Moving a group from a bank's split to Dimesum
The cleanest move is at a clean break. Settle what the group owes inside the bank's app, then start the next trip or the next month's rent in Dimesum at zero. Nothing needs to come across.
If the history has to come with you and the bank gives you a spreadsheet of it, Dimesum can take it in. An AI assistant holding your Dimesum key reads the file, shows a dry run, and adds every row with its date, payer and split; our guide to moving a group off Splitwise walks through the import, and it works the same for any app's spreadsheet.
The person who banks somewhere else, or nowhere, sits in a kept place until they claim it. For keeping the score on a trip once the group is in, see how to keep track of who owes who on a trip.
Count the banks at your table before you pick the app
If everyone at the table banks in the same place and spends one currency, use the feature that bank already has. If even one person banks elsewhere, pays in another currency or has no account, open Dimesum, add them as a kept place, and send the group the link.
Common questions
What is Venmo Groups?
Venmo Groups is a feature inside Venmo that keeps running balances for a group of up to 30 people and simplifies who owes whom. Venmo announced it on 14 November 2023. It works in the United States only, and everyone in the group needs a Venmo account, as of August 2026.
Can people without Revolut use Revolut Group Bills?
Yes. Since about mid 2025, people without a Revolut account can take part through a web link at groupbills.revolut.com. Group Bills itself launched on 19 August 2020, handles groups of 2 to 20 people, and Revolut's terms say it does not currently charge a fee for it.
Do my friends need a Monzo account to use Monzo Split?
No. Monzo says friends can join a Split as guests by link, even if they don't live in the UK or bank with Monzo. Monzo rebuilt Split on 24 March 2025 with no limit on expenses and the option to pay back part of a balance.
Is Cash App Pools the same as a group expense ledger?
No. Cash App Pools, live since 29 July 2025, gathers money towards a set target, such as a gift, and lets people contribute by link. It does not keep a running record of who owes whom across many bills, which is what Venmo Groups, Revolut Group Bills, Monzo Split and Dimesum keep.
When do I need a ledger app instead of my bank's split feature?
You need one when your group is not all at one bank, spends in more than one currency, or includes someone with no account. Dimesum keeps each currency as its own balance, seats people without an account in kept places, and offers a door to whatever way each person gets paid, without ever holding money.
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