Cash App Investing Review: Key Takeaways
• Besides banking services, Cash App also has brokerage accounts.
• Cash App’s platform is very simple and not meant for day trading or advanced strategies.
• Cash App only supports a limited number of tradable assets.
Overview of Cash App
If you already have a Cash App account to handle money, you might want to consider using it for
trading as well. Here’s a review of Cash App’s investing service:
Investing and Trading
You can open brokerage accounts at Cash App for trading stocks, ETFs, and bitcoin. There are no other products, and no other digital coins except bitcoin. With the Lightning Network, you can send and receive bitcoin with a Cash App account (in approved states).
For stock trading, the menu is pretty short. There are no bonds, options, closed-end funds, or mutual funds. Cash App only offers ETFs and stocks. Making matters more limited, some ETFs and stocks aren’t even available on Cash App. And there’s no short selling or day trading.
Cash App also has limited account types. The basic choice is an individual taxable account. Recently, Cash App introduced teen accounts for ages 13 to 17. A sponsor (adult) has to open one of these.
Banking
Next is cash management, which is Cash App’s main focus. The service includes a debit card, FDIC coverage in certain circumstances, early direct deposit, round-ups, merchant discounts, and peer-to-peer payments.
To get FDIC protection, an account must have a debit card or be a teen account or the sponsor of a teen. This requirement is Cash App’s main drawback, but it is avoidable. Any uninvested money in a brokerage account is automatically swept into the Cash App balance, which is not SIPC insured and may or may not be FDIC insured.
With the mobile app’s QR code, you can send and receive money from other Cash App users and even pay at some retail locations. This is one of Cash App’s biggest advantages.
Pricing
Now for costs. There’s no fee for stock or ETF trades. However, crypto trading does have a charge that varies by trade size. The scale starts around 3% and falls to 0.75% for amounts over $5,000.
On the cash-management side, fees may apply in some cases. For instance, instant deposits cost about 0.5% to 1.75% of the amount transferred, whereas standard deposits have no fee. ATM withdrawals cost $2.50 unless you have at least $300 in monthly direct deposits. Cash App doesn’t refund the ATM’s own charges.
Cash App doesn’t charge ongoing account fees for either its banking or brokerage service. There are no required minimums, either.
Margin
Margin trading is unavailable at Cash App, limiting some trading activity at this broker.
Mobile App
As the name shows, Cash App has a mobile application for both Apple and Android. It merges banking and investing into one place. To access the brokerage tools, open the Home icon at the bottom-left and pick stocks or bitcoin.
There’s a simple trade ticket with only three order types: market, custom, and auto. They are all basically market orders, so there’s no advanced trading. Charts are very basic with one line style and no tools. A chart can’t rotate horizontally, and there are no labels on the axes, so the charting function is barely helpful.
Still, each asset profile shows moderate details. For example, we found multiple analyst opinions. For Nike, Cash App displayed an average suggestion of moderate buy across 37 experts.
Cash App also shows earnings histories for companies, both real and projected. Financial data is available in bar charts, and you’ll see stats like daily volume, dividend yield, revenue over 12 months, operating margin, and market cap. News stories add more context.
On each asset’s page, there’s a gift icon. Tap it to send stock shares or bitcoin to another Cash App user.
If you’re uncertain about what to buy, Cash App organizes stocks and ETFs by category. You can scroll these collections and pick something. Examples on the homepage include:
- Energy
- Business Services
- Food & Drink
- Technology
- Media & Entertainment
Within each group, you can filter by features like 90-day return or dividend yield. The page also shows daily biggest movers and the month’s most traded stocks.
We looked for a feature to deposit checks on the app but didn’t find one.
Website
Despite the name, Cash App does have a website with account login. But there are no trading functions there, not even research for stocks or bitcoin. You can still manage your account, move cash, download records, and send and receive money on the site.
Other Software
Cash App’s mobile software is made for phones, not tablets. There’s no app for smartwatches, and don’t expect a desktop platform for complex trading.
Extra Services
IPO Access: Not offered by Cash App.
Extended-hours Trading: Also not offered.
Fractional Shares: Cash App only lets you invest whole dollar amounts, which are fractional shares if less than 1 share.
IRA Service: No Individual Retirement Accounts or other tax-advantaged plans.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: None.
Stock-Lending Income Program: Not available.
Tax Filing: Cash App has a free tax filing service with some missing features, such as foreign earned income.
Recommendations
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: With no financial advisors or IRAs, Cash App isn’t recommended. We suggest Robinhood instead.
Stock and ETF Trading: Because not every stock or ETF is available, we prefer Webull.
Small Accounts: With only a $1 minimum trade amount (and no account fees), Cash App works well for small investors. A $10 balance is required for recurring investments.
Beginning Investors: Even though Cash App aims for simplicity, we think a managed account at a broker like Charles Schwab would be better for newcomers.
Mutual Funds: Firstrade has thousands of mutual funds plus lots of fund tools.
Cash App Investing Review Verdict
For helpful cash management and basic stock trading, Cash App is tough to beat. But long-term investors or active traders should look elsewhere.
Updated on 3/17/2025.
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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