When the Square Cash app launched in late 2013, it joined a growing wave of emerging digital wallet providers promising to revolutionize the way we spend our money, optimizing digital transactions and altering the fintech landscape in the process. From the arrival of big tech onto the scene with the releases of Google Wallet and Apple Pay, to the emergence of innovative startups like Venmo and Square Cash, this era saw unprecedented growth in the digital payments sector, helping to establish what has become the norm today.
And, while many of these companies have seen their profits continue to rise, few have undergone a transformation quite like that of Square Cash. Now known as Cash App, what started as a simple peer-to-peer payment service has developed into something far greater, expanding into other financial services while also having a somewhat unexpected cultural impact. Here’s the story of CashApp’s impressive evolution.
Humble beginnings
Developed by parent company Block, Inc., Cash App can be seen as an expansion of the financial services already being offered by the company through its inaugural product, Square. A streamlined and easy-to-use piece of tech, Square enables businesses across the country to turn basically any device into a credit card reader POS system. The success of the product is undeniable, with it being considered a leading player, if not the leading player, in the POS systems market today.
Riding high on the success of Square, the company launched Cash App in 2013 with a simple aim – to make sending money to one another as easy as sending a text message. And so, Cash App was developed, offering a frictionless service that enabled peer-to-peer payments of up to $2,500 a week, regardless of the banks involved and without the need for traditional bank transfers. At this stage, however, it remained a simple payment transfer service between individuals only, meaning business transactions could not be made.
Financial expansion
This would change in 2015, when the company broadened the scope of Cash App to include a commercial element, allowing businesses to facilitate payments using so-called $Cashtags. From here, Cash App would continue expand into new territory.
In 2017, they would introduce the Cash Card, a Visa debit card linked to Cash App balances, followed a year later by a fully integrated banking service which enabled users to receive things like their paychecks and government rebates into their personal accounts. These developments marked a major shift for the company, evolving from a simple payments provider to a fully-fledged financial service and foreshadowing the future growth the company would continue to experience.
It was also around this time that Cash App made the decision to integrate Bitcoin into its financial services, allowing customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin directly within the app. This bold move would position Cash App at the head of the table just as crypto payments became more widely adopted in markets across the world. The company’s unique combination of streamlined, accessible payments with the ability to handle both traditional and crypto payments would also see it emerge as an attractive option for growing digital industries. A key example would be in online gambling, where using Cash App at a casino has become commonplace. Elsewhere, a diverse range of areas, from charitable organizations to subscription services, have all started accepting Cash App as a form of payment.
Cash App – the lifestyle brand
Away from the world of fintech, the company has also had a significant cultural impact, seemingly managing to capture the zeitgeist of today’s youth and internet culture in a myriad of ways. Notably, the company has become heavily associated with hip-hop, particularly with the Atlanta scene that has been at the forefront of the genre in recent years. Mentioned by a reported 200 artists in their song lyrics, Cash App has also been publicly endorsed by, and partnered with several high-profile names including Travis Scott, Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. While the reasons behind surprising relationship between hip-hop or Cash App may largely circumstantial, many observers point how Cash App’s services have managed to align themselves hip hop’s core values entrepreneurial spirit and financial independence. In any case, the result of this has been the birth of Cash App as a cool, trendy, must-have consumer product.
The company has also expertly tapped into social media, using platforms to engage effectively with tech-savvy younger audiences who increasingly see traditional banking platforms as outdated and irrelevant. The now-famous Cash App Fridays, which sees the company give away cash prizes for those who engage with social media posts, epitomize this perfectly, highlighting how the company is increasingly being seen as a status symbol in online circles. It has also used influencer marketing to further bolster its customer base, partnering up with popular online figures to showcase the app’s content and features to their significant fan bases. Ultimately, through their unique approach to the digital environment as well as their association with pop culture, Cash App has managed to establish itself as a legitimate lifestyle brand in a way that few fintech companies have been able to achieve.
Cash App continues to make bold moves as it strives to further enhance its appeal to consumers. Most notably in recent years, the company has opened up its services to teenagers while also ceasing operations in both the UK and Europe. This marks a clear strategic direction that the company is heading in, doubling down on its primary market in the United States while continuing to target younger audiences. Such striking decisions highlight Cash App’s evolution from an emerging fintech start-up to a bona fide digital brand, while the company’s financial figures underpin this impressive transformation. Last year saw 57 million people use Cash App, generating a huge profit of $5.23 billion. With numbers like this, it is clear that the company’s approach is working. Looking forward, Cash App looks set to carry on growing.
