Cash App

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You're probably familiar with Square as the company that makes credit card swiping machines used by many small businesses. The corporation has since rebranded to Block, Inc., but its many Square functions and digital services have only grown and improved over time. Cash App—the company's free mobile payment tool—lets you pay and request money from friends, make contactless payments with Square readers, or make online purchases with the Cash App debit card. Competition in the mobile payment app market is fierce, with Cash App contending with Google Wallet, a well-rounded digital hub that transfers money and houses your digital tickets, loyalty cards, and transportation passes. Google Wallet is our Editors' Choice winner, but Cash App holds its own thanks to several unique features, including ones that let you file taxes, purchase stocks, and buy bitcoin.

Getting Started With Cash App

Cash App is available on Android and iOS phones. It is no longer supported on smartwatches, but you can add Cash App as a payment option to Apple Pay and Google Wallet. To open a Cash App account, you must enter your email address; you don't need a mobile number unless you want to verify the account (more on verification in a bit). Next, you must enter a debit card number and choose a name for your $Cashtag (more on this later). Finally, you can invite friends to sign up, netting you a $5 reward for each person who does. You can also connect a credit card as a payment source, but, as with other mobile payment services, you pay a 3% fee when paying that way. Note that Cash App only works in the US and UK; you should consider PayPal if you must pay across other borders in multiple currencies.

On the account page, a slider lets you require FaceID to transfer money, which is a good idea for security. You can also set up a cash.app/$cashtag URL, which lets you pay via web browser ("$cashtag" is replaced by a nickname you choose). You can also scan another person's QR code to pay them, and, of course, it works the other way; you have a QR code for receiving payments. Be careful not to accept payments from people you don't know, as this can land you in trouble (for example, if the money came from a stolen credit card).

How to Use Cash App

Cash App has one of the simplest, most effective interfaces we've seen in a mobile payment app. It's just a big numeric keypad with buttons at the bottom for requesting and sending money. Up top, you'll see account details (a head-and-shoulders icon) and transaction history (a clock). When the transaction is complete, you can view a web receipt.

When someone pays you, you can keep the money in your account or enable Auto Cash Out in Settings, which dumps the money straight into your connected bank account. This keeps things pleasantly simple. Cash App doesn't try to shoehorn gimmicks to be effective.

Cash App lets you send and receive up to $1,000 per 30-day period if you have not verified your identity. It also has a hard limit of $1,500 for unverified accounts. Once you hit those limits, you'll be asked to verify your identity. The verification process includes adding a name, date of birth, social security number, residential address, and a valid ID. Once verified, you can send up to $10,000 weekly, up to $20,000 per 30-day period, and receive an unlimited amount. You can receive up to $12,500 weekly and $25,000 per 30-day period. Venmo has a $300 weekly cap for unverified users. That said, Venmo beats Cash App with an impressive $60,000 weekly send limit once you're verified.

After getting an SMS code from your smartphone, you can sign into your Cash App account in a web browser. The site lets you see your transaction history, make payments online, and change account settings. PayPal and Zelle all let you pay or request money from people in the web browser, but Venmo no longer does. Apple Pay works similarly, but only in the Safari web browser. You can also download an Excel spreadsheet of your activity.

Once you've got an account, you can request a physical Cash Card, which lets you pay anywhere you can with a traditional debit card. Applying for this requires no further proof of your identity, and the card offers impressive discounts, including 10% off grocery store purchases and DoorDash orders. You can use it for online purchases, and it's generally accepted anywhere that takes Visa.

Google Wallet does not allow peer-to-peer payments like Cash App, but it makes up for it by offering a convenient digital hub with zero charge fees for credit card purchases and storage for everyday digital valuables, such as event tickets, transit passes, and ID cards.

Sending Money via $Cashtag

Cash App differentiates itself through the $Cashtag system. Every Cash App user is assigned a personal $Cashtag. You can send money directly to Cash App users through their $Cashtag URL without asking for email addresses or phone numbers. In fact, users make their $Cashtag public so anyone can send them money, such as a donation. Remember that income earned through Cash App—donation or otherwise—may be taxable.

In addition, Cash App now supports contactless payment between Cash App and the Square mobile card reader. It lets you scan a QR code at a Square seller’s point of sale device, making payments a cinch.

Cash App Taxes

The service formerly known as Credit Karma Tax was acquired by Block, Inc. and integrated with Cash App. As a result, Cash App provides free, online federal and state tax preparation and filing, with support for most major IRS forms and schedules.

As Cash App Taxes, it utilizes Cash App's convenient browser and mobile interface, offering yet another handy function to the app’s already impressive suite. It has a few limitations, including a lack of expert tax help and limited W2 imports. Still, it's still an option worth considering during tax season.

Cash App Investing and Bitcoin

Unlike the other mobile payment apps we've reviewed, Cash App lets you purchase stocks and bitcoin. The app provides market prices and news to help you see which stocks are hot. You can follow stocks to keep track of them or buy them with a balance in your Cash account. But like much of the app, it oversimplifies the investing game. Its quotes don't show basics like a stock's price-to-earnings ratio, analyst targets, earnings beats and misses, or yields. Check out the Yahoo Finance app or site for detailed info like that.

It also lets you buy fractional shares, a capability pioneered by Stash and hyped by Robinhood. If you're serious about investing, however, look to a fuller-featured brokerage site—most even offer commission-free trading these days.

To start buying stocks or bitcoin via Cash App, verify your identity and date of birth, the last four digits of your Social Security number, mobile phone number, and employer. You can search by stock symbol or pick from a selection of hot stocks. You can set recurring purchases for dollar-cost averaging—a smart strategy that means you're not putting all your eggs in the current basket.

As for buying bitcoin, Cash App makes it easier than any other system we've seen. To invest in bitcoin, we didn't have to scan a driver's license and wait days for approval as we did with Coinbase. You need to go through this process if you want to use Square's wallet to transact with bitcoin—that is, to send or receive it.

Security and Support

Cash App states that it is certified as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) Level 1, the same security used by major credit cards. Nevertheless, it's a good idea to make sure that you enable the Security Lock using FaceID or TouchID on the iPhone or whatever biometric authentication your Android phone uses.

It has the same security features and fraud-detection infrastructure Square POS transactions use to keep your account safe. However, when it comes to cancellations, refunds, and disputes, Cash App suggests that you resolve any issues directly with the merchant first before disputing a charge with support. Afterward, Cash App investigates the claim. This isn’t as good as the peace of mind offered by PayPal, which features an ironclad guarantee that you’ll either get what you purchased or get your money back.

The service's customer support has improved since we last reviewed it. The help page features four useful panels (Cash Card, Direct Deposit, ATM, and Cash Boost Discounts) that lead to extensive information pages about the subjects. Lower on the help page is a list of popular search topics, including receiving a payment, cashing out, account settings, bitcoin, and others. Below is a short FAQ with a few more popular questions and a support link to contact customer support.

Verdict: A Useful Multipurpose Payment App

Cash App is a well-designed and worthwhile mobile payment app that becomes even better if you leverage its $Cashtags, Cash Card discounts, tax prep, and microinvesting options. That said, for a mobile payment app that excels at making purchases and storing digital tickets, commuter passes, and other helpful day-to-day items, check out our Editors' Choice winner, Google Wallet.

Michael Muchmore contributed to this review.