How Does Cash App Make Money?
Cash App is a popular money transfer app. Like other peer-to-peer payment apps, it lets you send and receive money and comes with a ton of other features, including tax filing and crypto investing. Most of Cash App’s banking and financial tools are free to use — so how does Cash App make money?
Key Takeaways
- Cash App is used by around a quarter of Americans and offers financial services for individuals and businesses.
- Most of Cash App’s services are free, but it charges some transaction fees.
- Cash App’s most significant revenue source is bitcoin sales.
- Thanks in part to bitcoin, Cash App’s revenue is on the rise.
What Is Cash App?
Many know Cash App as a convenient money transfer service, but there’s more to it than that. Cash App is a digital wallet that you can use to bank, invest, file your taxes and buy and sell bitcoin. Founded in 2013, it offers its services to individuals and businesses.
Today, Cash App is used by around a quarter of Americans. It still lags behind PayPal and Venmo in popularity, but as the company branches into new features like crypto investing and debit cards, it continues to attract new users.
Is Cash App Safe?
Like other money transfer services, Cash App is encrypted and uses fraud protection technology to keep its customers’ data secure. However, it has had some technical issues in the past. The app was recently under fire for double-charging some transactions on its free debit card. All the transactions have since been refunded.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that funds stored on payment apps like Cash App may not be insured. So, you may not want to use Cash App as your primary bank, but it is a secure platform for short-term banking and transfers.
How Does Cash App Make Money?
Cash App is free to download and start using. But that doesn’t mean it’s 100% free — this is a for-profit company that generated $10.6 billion in revenue in 2022. So, how does Cash App make money?
Cash App mainly earns money through transaction fees and service fees.
Withdrawal and Transaction Fees
Although Cash App is free to use, it does charge a fee for some services. Here’s an overview:
- Deposit fees: Cash App charges a fee of 0.5% to 1.75% for instant deposits from your Cash App balance to your linked debit card. Free deposits take 1 to 3 business days to arrive.
- Transfer fees: It’s free to transfer money from your Cash App balance. But if you want to send money to someone via a credit card, the app charges a 3% fee.
- ATM withdrawals: When you withdraw cash at an ATM using your Cash Card, Cash App charges a $2.50 fee.
Altogether, these fees account for a small portion of Cash App’s annual revenue. As a Cash App user, you can avoid transaction fees by making free deposits and only transferring from your balance or a linked bank account instead of a credit card.
Hardware Fees
Businesses that use the Square POS system can accept Cash App as a form of payment. Every Cash App payment comes with a transaction fee that varies if there is a card present or not.
- If there is a card present, the transaction will have a 2.60% fee. These transactions will also have a $0.10 fee added to them.
- If there is no card present, the transaction will have a 2.90% fee. There will also be a flat fee of $0.30 added.
Bitcoin Sales
Bitcoin makes up a large percentage of Cash App’s annual revenue. When you buy or sell bitcoin on Cash App, you’ll be charged a fee that depends on current market activity. Cash App’s total bitcoin revenue — the total value of bitcoin sold to customers — for the first quarter of 2023 was just under $2.2 billion.
Should You Buy Bitcoin With Cash App?
Cash App is secure and user-friendly, so it could be a good place to dip your toes into bitcoin if you’re interested in crypto trading. According to Cash App’s website, you’ll see your fees listed in the trade confirmation before you make your purchase. However, its fees fluctuate and might not be as transparent as other platform’s fees.
How Much Does Cash App Make?
Block, Cash App’s parent company, has seen a lot of growth since it first introduced bitcoin to the platform in 2018. Although it saw a decrease in revenue from 2021 to 2022 — $12.3 billion to $10.6 billion — it’s already outperforming estimates for 2023. Experts think that growth in revenue is mainly due to bitcoin sales on the app.
Final Take: Is Cash App Worth Using?
Cash App makes money through transaction fees, hardware fees and bitcoin sales. Although it’s a high-value company, most of its services are free. You can transfer money to and from your Cash App account without paying any fees.
The fees Cash App charges are pretty standard for the industry, so you shouldn’t hesitate to use this app if it’s your preferred money transfer service.
FAQ
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding Cash App.- Is Cash App free?
- Cash App is free to use, but it charges small fees for some transactions, including ATM withdrawals and instant transfers.
- What is the Cash App fee for $100?
- Transferring $100 from your Cash App balance to someone else's account is free. If you want to instantly deposit $100 to your linked card, you'll be charged a fee of 0.5% to 1.75%. The fee to transfer from a linked credit card to someone else's account is 3%.
- What are the disadvantages of Cash App?
- The main disadvantage of Cash App is that it isn't as commonly used as some other money transfer services, so you might not be able to send money to any recipients.
Data is accurate as of Aug. 30, 2023, and is subject to change.
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- SignHouse. 2023. "Cash App Revenue and Growth Statistics (2023)."
- Decrypt. 2023. "Jack Dorsey’s Cash App Posts $2.16B in Bitcoin Revenue for Q1 2023."
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 2023. "CFPB Finds that Billions of Dollars Stored on Popular Payment Apps May Lack Federal Insurance."
- Business of Apps. 2023. "Cash App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2023)."
- USA Today. 2023. "Cash App glitch is double-charging users for purchases; customer service operations impacted."
- Time. 2023. "What is Cash App & How Does It Work?"
- Pew Research Center. 2022. "Payment apps like Venmo and Cash App bring convenience – and security concerns – to some users."
