Cash App Review: Key Takeaways
• In addition to banking tools, Cash App also has brokerage accounts.
• Cash App’s software is very basic and is not intended for day trading or advanced trading.
• Only a small list of tradable products will be found at Cash App.
Overview of Cash App
If you already have a Cash App account for money management, you may want to consider using the firm for
trading, too. Here’s the review of the Casp App’s investing service:
Investing and Trading
Brokerage accounts can be opened at Cash App to trade securities and bitcoin. There are no other products available, including other cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin. Using the Lightning Network, it’s possible to send and receive bitcoin with a Cash App account (in approved states).
For securities trading, the lineup is rather small. There are no bonds, options, closed-end funds, or mutual funds. Cash App offers trading only in exchange-traded funds and stocks. To make matters even worse, some ETFs and stocks aren’t on the Cash App platform. For the securities it does offer, Cash App does not permit shorting or day trading.
Cash App’s selection of investing account types is also very curtailed. The individual taxable account is the standard account. Cash App has recently launched accounts for teens from 13 to 17. An adult sponsor is required to get one of these open.
Banking
Next up is cash management, which, as its name suggests, is Cash App’s claim to fame. The company does have a lot of great cash features. These resources include a debit card, FDIC insurance in some cases, early payday, roundups, discounts at some retailers, and peer-to-peer transfers.
To qualify for the FDIC protection, an account must have a debit card or be a teen account or a sponsor of a teen account. This caveat is Cash App’s primary weakness, although it’s obviously avoidable. Idle cash in a brokerage account is automatically swept into this free-cash balance at Cash App, which is not SIPC insured and may or may not be FDIC insured.
Using a QR code in the Cash App mobile app, it’s possible to send and receive money with other Cash App users and even pay for purchases at some point-of-sale terminals. This feature is Cash App’s major advantage.
Pricing
And what does all of this cost? For securities trading, nothing. For cryptocurrencies, there is a commission that varies by transaction amount. The sliding scale starts at 3% and drops to 0.75% for purchases or sales that exceed $5,000.
On the cash-management side of the business, there are fees in some situations. For example, instant deposits cost anywhere from 0.5% to 1.75% of the transaction amount. Standard deposits are free. ATM withdrawals are $2.50 each unless the account receives a monthly direct deposit of at least $300. And Cash App does not reimburse fees charged by the ATM itself.
Cash App does not charge any ongoing account fees for either banking or brokerage accounts. There are no minimums, either.
Margin
Cash App does not offer margin accounts, and this absence limits trading quite a bit at the brokerage firm.
Mobile App
As its name suggests, Cash App has a mobile app. Designed for both Apple and Android phones, it packs both investing and banking into one platform. The brokerage tools will be found on the home screen (tap on the Home icon in the bottom-left corner and then select stocks or bitcoin).
Here, we found a simple trade ticket with just three order types: market, custom, and auto. All three are market orders, so there’s really no advanced trading at all here. Graphs on the app are very simple with only one plot style (line) and zero tools. A chart cannot be rotated horizontally, and there are no numbers on the horizontal or vertical axis, which makes the app’s charts basically pointless.
Despite these weaknesses, security profiles have a moderate amount of information on them. For example, we found expert opinions across multiple analysts. For Nike, we found an average rating of moderate buy across 37 analysts.
Cash App also provides earnings histories for both realized and expected earnings. Financial returns of companies are available in bar-chart format, and there is quite a bit of market data, including today’s volume, dividend yield, revenue (12 months), operating margin, and market cap. News articles help to complete the picture.
On a security’s profile, there is a gift icon. Tap on this to send a stock shares or bitcoin to another Cash App user.
If you have no idea what to invest in, Cash App has tiles of groups of stocks and ETFs. It’s easy to scroll through these and find something to buy. Here are some examples we found on the stock home page:
- Energy
- Business Services
- Food & Drink
- Technology
- Media & Entertainment
Within each category, it’s possible to filter results by a handful of issues, such as 90-day return and dividend yield. There are lists of notable equities on the stock page as well. These include the day’s biggest movers and most traded monthly.
We hoped to find a check-deposit tool on the app but didn’t find one.
Website
Despite its name, Cash App does have a website with login capability. However, there are no trading tools at all. It’s not even possible to research stocks or bitcoin. An account can be managed within the site, though, and it’s possible to transfer funds, download documents, and send and receive money.
Other Software
Cash App’s mobile app is designed for phones and not for tablets. The company does not have a smartwatch platform, and don’t even ask for a desktop platform for advanced trading.
Extra Services
IPO Access: Cash App does not offer Initial Public Offerings.
Extended-hours Trading: Not available, either.
Fractional Shares: Traders at Cash App can place trades in whole dollars, and in fact, they must place orders in whole dollars.
IRA Service: Cash App does not offer Individual Retirement Accounts or other tax-sheltered accounts.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: There is no DRIP service at Cash App.
Stock-Lending Income Program: Missing in action.
Tax Filing: Cash App does have a unique tax-filing service. There is no charge for it, although some features are missing, such as foreign earned income.
Cash App Top Competitors
Recommendations
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Without financial planners or IRAs, Cash App is certainly
not advisable. We suggest Robinhood instead.
Stock and ETF Trading: Without the full list of stocks and ETFs on American exchanges, we have to
defend Webull instead.
Small Accounts: With only a $1 minimum trade amount (and no account fees), Cash App is a good
place for small investors. Ten dollars are required for a recurring investment.
Beginning Investors: Despite the focus on simplicity at Cash App, we think a managed account at an
investment firm like Charles Schwab would be better for novices.
Mutual Funds: Charles Schwab has thousands of mutual funds and lots of fund resources.
Cash App Investing Review Verdict
For advanced cash management and simple trading, Cash App is hard to beat. Advanced traders and long-term investors should look elsewhere.
Updated on 2/27/2024.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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