In our discussions we came up with something along the lines of this
- A Bishop or counselor uses their venmo to accept the payments. This keeps the spirit of the law that only a bishopric member receives the funds (spirit in that yes, venmo is in the mix)
- A log of payments made is kept outside of venmo
- The venmo holder prints out a list of all the submissions he received
- Two finance-worthy priesthood holders review the log of payments and the venmo submissions to make sure they match
- The venmo holder pays out the equivalent amount via cash/check that is submitted like any other donation via a donation slip
This was a loose discussion around how to stay as close as possible to the cash/check donation. This doesn't address other valid questions of legality of using venmo (or others), etc.
As was mentioned by someone else relative to friends of scouting, there does seem to be times when others collect money when it isn't specifically tithing or fast offering. Pretty much any other fund raising activity (yard sale, car wash, service auction, etc) will have a "cash box" type collection of small payments of services where I doubt a bishopric member is making every collection (naturally this is personal opinion/experience).
We definitely wish there was better official direction, but are trying to accommodate those who would donate when it is convenient (venmo) but wouldn't otherwise. Or getting into an IOU situation where something is given and you have to keep hounding people to pay via an offering slip for weeks after.
Anyway, far from anything official... but is where our discussion went.