In the last couple of decades, the financial sector has changed out of all recognition. Traditional banks are increasingly challenged by new entrants to the market. Sometimes these newcomers work alongside them, at other times they offer a genuine alternative. There’s no doubt that these so-called digital wallets offer both benefits and challenges, but most people agree that the former greatly outweigh the latter. PayPal may be the one that’s best-known, but competition is fierce with providers like Cash App leading the way.

A brief history of Cash App

Cash App’s origins were in an application called Square Cash that was launched back in 2013. The primary objective of this service was to be a way for users to transfer money to each other using either a debit card, email or text message.

There was a weekly limit of $2,500, and within a year, its founders claimed that the service had been used to send hundreds of millions of dollars between users. In 2015, the service was expanded to allow businesses to use it, too. A year later, the service was further enhanced by introducing a guarantee that, for a 1% fee, a deposit would be made instantly instead of on the following business day. E-commerce purchases were also made possible using a virtual debit card, using money stored in the app.

The expansion of available services continued the next year when it became possible to trade in bitcoin, and in 2019, it also started to enable users in the US to trade in stocks too. The acquisition of Credit Karma Tax for $50 million in 2020 also meant that people could use a free do-it-yourself tax filing service.

In 2021, the service was opened up, so the minimum age limit for users was 13, although parental permission was required, and it offered no investment or trading features. The next year, a report from the Pew Research Center found that 26% of adults in the US had used Cash App at least once and identified that it was most popular amongst low-income demographics.

In 2024, the service reported that there were 57 million user accounts and that it had generated $14.7 billion in revenues and helped to move $248 billion across 2023. There has also been more expansion into different sectors which accept it as a payment method. For example, Cash App is now available to use at casinos, where users find it a fast and secure way to both deposit their stake money and to receive any winnings.

A boon for small businesses

As part of its drive to offer an ever-increasing range of services, Cash App has now teamed up with Apple Pay to allow businesses to accept contactless payments. This is specifically aimed at micro and small businesses, as well as casual sellers. This also allows them to not just be paid but also to use powerful tools to track sales and manage their cash flow.

Businesses simply have to download the Tap To Pay iOS app, and it enables them to receive payments from customers who may not even have the Cash App themselves.

As a result, Tap to Pay on iPhone is by far the most requested of the services that business customers use, and reports indicate that adopters see a 35% increase in sales volumes on average.

Where to next?

Now, many observers are starting to speculate about what could be in store for Cash App going forward. One obvious step will be to broaden the Tap To Pay service to users of Android devices, especially as these greatly outnumber iOS users. There’s also the question of global expansion. Currently, the service is only available in the US, but surely it would also be welcomed across the world.

Even if the rest of the world might not be ready to embrace Cash App, there are still plenty of opportunities in the US. As already mentioned, it’s predominantly used by people on relatively low incomes. By targeting higher net-worth individuals, it would easily increase the volumes of cash passing through the service, with a corresponding rise in profits.

To date, it has always been a go-between for users, but perhaps with such large cash reserves at its disposal, it could also start to offer loans.

Dealing with businesses themselves also opens up a wide range of new opportunities. Cash App already helps individuals wanting to file their tax returns, and this service could possibly be expanded into the business world. Similarly, it could aim to join other providers of accounts receivable software, particularly for smaller companies without the resources of their larger rivals.

So there are plenty of options for Cash App to continue with its incredible success. As to which ones the owners choose to pursue, we’ll just have to wait and see.