The Cash App allows users to load funds into their account to take advantage of special deals (Boosts) at certain merchants, invest in stocks or Bitcoin, or send money for free to family or friends.
The Cash App was created by Square Inc., which is one of the largest financial services companies in the United States.
This post will cover everything you need to know about the Cash App.
We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s dive right in.
$5 Sign-Up Bonus
You can get a $5 bonus when downloading the Cash App by using our referral code and sending $5 to someone like a friend or family member.
Download Cash App
Cash Boosts
The biggest reason to get the Cash App is for their Cash Boosts, which save you money at certain retailers.
I originally joined Cash App because they previously offered $1 off coffee every 2 hours. That boost lasted about a year, but it was likely very unprofitable for Square.
Below are the current boosts that are showing in my account. Your boosts may be slightly different and may include some regional businesses.
Boosts rotate every few weeks, so we will try to keep this page updated as boosts change.
| Merchant | Cash Back |
|---|---|
| Anywhere | $15 off* |
| DoorDash | $5 off** |
| Shack Shack | 25% |
| Groupon | 5% |
| Chic-fil-A | 5% |
| Burger King | 5% |
| Sam's Club | 5% |
| Xbox | 15% |
| GOAT | 5% |
| Any Restaurant | 5% worth of Bitcoin |
| Playstation | 5% |
| Dominos | 10% |
| Starbucks | 10% |
| GoPuff | 20% |
* Unlocked with a paycheck deposit of $300 or more.
** Unlocked by making 3 transactions at DoorDash.
Plus, Cash App occasionally drops some really amazing boosts for a very limited time, like 99% off anything for 20 minutes.
For that boost, I bought a $52 Amazon gift card and got $50 cash back.
Instant Boosts
What I like about Cash App’s Boosts because they are applied instantly when you purchase something.
For example, if you bought something for $10 with a 5% boost, Cash App would only charge you $9.50 because the 5% boost (50 cents) was applied instantly.
This is better than a similar account (with better boosts than Cash App) from Oxygen Bank that requires you to earn at least $10 in boosts to cash them out to your account.
Claim Missing Boosts
Another nice feature of Boosts is the ability to claim a missing boost.
Sometimes a retailer should qualify for a Boost, but it doesn’t apply instantly because the merchant’s category code was incorrect.
This frequently happened with the coffee boost because many coffee shops coded as restaurants.
Luckily, you can request Cash App to review the transaction and see if it qualifies.
Sending and Receiving Money
Cash App is also very similar to Venmo because it allows you to send and receive money from family and friends.
Transfers are free when you use your bank’s debit card to send money, but there is a 3% fee if you need to send money using a credit card.
Each user gets a $Cashtag (unique username) that you can give out for cash transfers. You can also send money by searching your phone’s contacts or knowing their phone number or email address.
You can send a maximum of $2,500 per week if you verify your identity or $250 without identity verification.
Free Investing with Cash App
The Cash App allows you to invest in stocks for free. All you need is $1 to invest.
The investment platform is designed for casual investors who typically invest under $1,000 per year.
If you are a more serious investor, I recommend the no-fee stock trading platforms of Robinhood, WeBull, SoFi, or Charles Schwab.
I use all four of those platforms, in addition to the Cash App, and each of those also has a nice sign-up bonus for joining.
Only Fractional Investing
Cash App only allows you to buy stocks in dollar amounts, rather than a set number of shares at a certain price, on their investing platform.
When your stock trade is executed, you will receive a fractional stock share (Dollar Amount / Stock Price).
You can also set a recurring investment in a company with a $10 minimum purchase.
I prefer to buy and sell stocks at my set price (a limit order), so I wish Square would add that feature.
With fractional investing, you never know what price they will execute your order.
I generally found that the execution price on more stable stocks (Ford, Coca-Cola, etc.) are at the market rate.
But for the more volatile stocks (Tesla, Gamestop, etc.), the buying execution price can be 3-5 cents higher than the market price.
Lack of Stock Information
One area of improvement for Cash App’s investing platform is adding a lot more information on a company’s stock.
While it has a nice interactive price chart, the remaining information on the company is lacking.
The only information provided on the stock is the current price, symbol, total company value, some news, and a short summary of the company.
I want the Cash App to add more information on a company’s:
- Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio)
- Earnings per share
- The dividend (if any)
- 52-week range
- Volume vs. average volume
- Pre-market or after-hours stock price.
You can easily search for the available stocks that went 10-50% higher or lower within the last week, 30 days, 90 days, or year.
Limited Stocks
Another disadvantage to the Cash App’s investing platform is that many stocks are not available for trading.
Most large stocks that a retail investor would know (e.g., Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Walmart, Disney, etc.) and most of the major ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are available for trading.
But there are many stocks, including some in the S&P 500 (the largest 500 stocks), that are not available to invest in on the Cash App.
Buying Bitcoin with Cash App
You can buy Bitcoin with the Cash App starting with an investment of $1.
Like investing in stocks, you can also set up a recurring purchase of Bitcoin every day, week, or every two weeks with a $10 minimum recurring purchase.
But Cash App will charge you a fee to buy or sell Bitcoin, unlike Robinhood, where it is free.
The fee varies based on the amount you buy, but there is no official disclosure of the exact fee amount.
I created a chart of the fees that the Cash App would charge me on a hypothetical Bitcoin purchase. Your fees may differ and could change over time.
| Buying Amount | Fee % |
|---|---|
| $5 | 3% |
| $10 | 2.2% |
| $100 | 2.27% |
| $500 | 1.76% |
| $1,000 | 1.76% |
| $5,000 | 1.01% |
Advantages of Cash App
Instant Money Transfers
One nice feature is the ability to load your account with funds from your debit card instantly.
I frequently will keep only $20-50 in my account and then load additional funds if I need to take advantage of a Boost or invest in a stock.
This is one area where I think the Cash App’s competitor, Oxygen Bank, could improve.
Free ATM Withdrawals with Direct Deposit
Cash App offers free ATM withdrawals at any ATM if you receive at least $300 each month in direct deposits.
This benefit is limited to 3 ATM withdrawals every 31 days, and the Cash App covers up to $7 in fees per withdrawal.
However, if you don’t meet the direct deposit requirements, you are charged both a $2 fee and any ATM fees.
ATM withdrawals are limited to $1,000 in any 7-day period.
No Fees for Most Things
Another thing I like about the Cash App is that there are no fees for most things, including:
- No monthly maintenance fees
- No minimum balance fees
- No fee for sending money from a debit card
- No fees to buy or sell stocks or ETFs
Disadvantages of Cash App
No FDIC Insurance
The funds in your Cash App are not insured like most banks through the FDIC.
However, I don’t worry too much about the lack of FDIC insurance because Square is valued at $120+ billion, so the chance that Square goes bankrupt is extremely low.
The Verdict
I recommend you sign up for a Square Cash account because it is free, and you can easily get a $5 bonus.
Plus, it is nice to have the account set up just in case I can take advantage of a Boost.
