Political relations between the United States and Venezuelahas become more complex, yet for numerous Venezuelans, receiving funds from friends and family in the U.S. is as simple as sending a message.
The Trump administration targeted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Madurointo custody last weekendand recently enacted penalties against multiple international trading companies andoil tankersconnected to the Venezuelan government. However, even earlier restrictions did not stop the flow of money to the country’s families, according to analysts.
Money frequently moves through informal channels like U.S. peer-to-peer payment applications and independent cash couriers who cross the Colombian border. These pathways remain accessible because U.S. restrictions on Venezuela specifically focus on individuals and entities linked to the government. The sanctions do not prohibit official bank transfers to other people, but Venezuela’s stringent regulations on incoming transactions have led many to opt for less formal methods.
Remittances from different parts of the world contributed approximately 7.5% to Venezuela’s gross domestic product in 2025, as reported by the Remittance Industry Observatory, a research organization based in Washington, D.C. However, experts believe this figure is probably significantly lower than the actual amount, as most of the money flows through informal channels that are difficult to monitor.
In reality, a significant portion of the funds coming from the United States that Venezuelans use does not actually move across international boundaries.
Cautious about the nation’s financial system, numerous Venezuelans store their funds in U.S. bank accounts managed by reliable contacts, and family members in the U.S. can deposit money into these accounts. When individuals in Venezuela wish to make a purchase, it is typical for them to transfer funds into U.S. accounts belonging to local merchants. Since both parties involved in the transaction have access to U.S. accounts, they can process payments using no-fee peer-to-peer services like Zelle.
Zelle, developed by leading U.S. banks, does not promote or approve its service for use beyond the United States, and access from Venezuela is frequently restricted. To get around this, a customer purchasing groceries in Caracas, Venezuela, could send a message to a family member or friend in the U.S. to start a transfer between two U.S. accounts. Retailers then verify the transaction using their international contacts.
Since the transaction takes place and is settled within the United States, it typically does not appear as an international transfer.
“We do not support international money transfers, and users can only use Zelle to send funds from a U.S. bank or credit union account to another U.S. bank or credit union account,” stated a representative from Early Warning Services, the company that owns Zelle.
Andrew Selee, the head of the Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit research group, stated that the informal payment system sustaining daily trade in Venezuela is distinctive.
“I can’t recall any other nation where this applies,” he stated.
Increased expenses associated with official methods, such as a new 1% tax on cash-remittance transfers outlined in Republicans’ “one big, beautiful”tax-and-spending bill, give people some motivation to change their approach. Sending money through payment apps such as Zelle bypasses the new tax.
The terrain differs from that of a country such as Russia, whereU.S. sanctionsNumerous of the nation’s biggest banks have been disconnected from the international financial network. According to information on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website, personal transfers between individuals in the U.S. and Venezuela are not subject to enforcement of sanctions.
“If you are in this country legally and you’re transferring funds to family members who are not under sanctions back home, that is entirely lawful,” stated Stephanie Connor, a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight, who previously served at the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Approximately 60% of Venezuelan families get remittances, as reported by the Remittance Industry Observatory, which is significantly higher than in other Latin American nations like Mexico. In Haiti, where roughly a third of households receive such funds, and in El Salvador, where about one in four do, remittances account for approximately 25% of GDP, according to the World Bank.
Remittances have served as a crucial support for Venezuelans during the last ten years, when the economy fell into crisis, drivinghunger and poverty.
Informal pathways that bypass the Venezuelan financial system developed over many years of exchange rate restrictions, which caused dollars entering the country’s banks to be exchanged at government-controlled rates that were frequently much lower than the actual market value. This made official money transfers expensive and uncertain, leading families to rely on cash couriers traveling to and from Colombia and foreign bank accounts.
“Sanctions don’t affect the total amount entering a country. They only alter the path it takes,” stated David Dorr, managing principal at the trading company DAM.
Even though Venezuelan officials started easing some of these restrictions in late 2024, it hasn’t altered the behaviors that developed over years of uncertainty.
Write to Imani Moise atimani.moise@wsj.com