Square Cash Card Review

When you are splitting bills with your friends, you must have considered using peer-to-peer mobile payment services such as Venmo and Cash App. In order to expand their services and allow users to pay vendors directly using their balance in Cash App, the company has introduced a Visa debit card called Square Cash Card.

Who is the Square Cash Card for?

The Square Cash Card is a free Visa debit card that connects to cardholders’ Cash App account. Just as with any other Visa cards, cardholders can make purchases in any places where Visa is accepted, both online and in-person. 

Since the Square Cash Card is a debit card, you will not find common credit card features like welcome bonuses or cash advances. However, what makes the Square Cash Card stand out amongst other debit cards is its Boosts feature. In this reward program, cardholders can receive discounts when making purchases at popular vendors such as coffee shops and restaurants. Furthermore, since it’s a debit card - not credit - there is no effect to your credit score by opening this card.

Another highlight of the Square Cash Card is that it allows cardholders to customize the card’s design. Customers can select unique colors, change the signatures, or even include emojis.

If you are not interested in getting a credit card and want a card that does more than the typical debit card, the Square Cash Card could be a fantastic option to receive discounts on your daily purchases.

Rewards Program

As mentioned above, the Square Cash Card is a Visa debit card that does not have the typical perks offered by a credit card, such as a welcome bonus and cash advances. Nonetheless, you will be able to withdraw cash through any ATM and make purchases using your Cash App balance. Additionally, you can also add the card to Apple Pay/Google Pay and to use the app’s contactless checkout functionality.

The highlight of the Square Cash Card is its reward program called Boosts that helps cardholders save money on their everyday spending. Cardholders can go on the Cash App, select a specific Boost category they wish to activate, and receive instant cash back when they make purchases using the Square Cash Card. These Boosts categories are usually related to everyday, common purchases such as groceries and coffee. Examples of some popular Boosts are 15% off at Starbucks, $1 off your daily coffee, 10% off for Doordash delivery, and 15% off for Xbox purchases. 

There are a couple of things that you should consider before getting the Square Cash Card for its Boosts feature:

1. Boosts rewards can come in different forms. Some give you a percentage off of the total purchase amount, and some offer a fixed dollar amount discount
2. The categories of purchases included in the feature are not permanent. The list gets updated regularly -- certain Boosts get retired and new Boosts are added. However, once a Boost is activated, it will not expire until after you use it
3. Only one boost can be activated at a time, and you will not be able to use a boost more than once in a one-hour period
4. You can swap your Boost whenever you want
5. Some Boosts are “locked” -- you are required to make a certain amount of purchases before you gain access to the Boost discount

Customizable Card Design

The Square Cash Card offers a premium feature that allows cardholders to customize the design of the card. With a $5 fee, customers can select the card’s color, change the signature on the front, and even add emojis.

Annual Fee

Another great benefit of obtaining the Square Cash Card is that it does not charge any annual fee. This makes the card very attractive since it offers a cash back reward feature without cost. Bear in mind that there is a $5 charge if you wish to customize your card’s design.

Technology

Part of what makes the Cash Card great is its ease of use. Many bank apps are less than user friendly and offer a limited range of functionality. The Cash App, which is required to have the Cash Card, allows you to send money to your friends for free. Furthermore, there are no account minimums (like most traditional bank accounts) and you can even purchase stocks and crypto currencies securely through the app. Accordingly, this app can be seen as a great compliment to your traditional bank account.

Cash Card also provides one of the few ways to seamlessly spend cryptocurrency in the real world. You are able to buy, send, and sell cryptocurrency (like bitcoin) through the app. As mentioned above, you can also spend Cash App balances through your Cash Card. Therefore you can spend your bitcoin at a merchant by:

1. Transfer bitcoin in your Cash App
2. Sell the bitcoin in the app (note: there is a 1.75% fee here), which converts it to Cash App balance
3. Simply use your Cash Card as you would at any store and the purchase will deduct from your existing balance
   

Limitations

There are certain factors that customers should take into account before getting the Square Cash Card:

1. The Square Cash Card is tied to the mobile payment app Cash App. This means you will not be able to order one if you are not a Cash App user
2. While you can withdraw cash using the Square Cash Card from any ATM, there is a limit in terms of the amount you can withdraw:
1. $310 per transaction
2. $1000 in any 24-hour period
3. $1000 in any 7-day period
3. There will be a $2 charge by Cash App when you withdraw cash from an ATM. However, Cash App will reimburse the ATM fees if you have $300 or more in paychecks directly deposited into your Cash App account (unemployment insurance deposits also qualify)

Conclusion

If you are looking to get a debit card, the Square Cash Card is one of the best options available on the market currently. In addition to the sleek, customizable card design, its Boosts feature offers a great rewards program that allows you to save money on your everyday purchases such as coffee, meals, and groceries, making it stand out amongst the debit and fintech cards currently available.