Block Inc. it seems positioned to drive more links between its various offerings with a new feature that allows users to automatically invest the replacement exchange for debit purchases from the Cash card on the stock exchange or in bitcoins.
Block, which hosts the Square trading business and the Cash App mobile wallet, said on Wednesday that Cash card users could round up the amount of any purchase and choose to invest the balance in a preferred stock or bitcoin. SQ block,
sees the move as an attempt to make the investment more accessible to its users.
“For early investors, getting started can be daunting and tricky,” Ryan Budd, head of financial services at Cash App, told MarketWatch in an email. “At Cash App we focus on making our financial products easy to use and accessible to everyone.”
Several other services, including Acorns, have also tried to make it easier for people to invest the surplus money in investments.
Although the Cash app started as a platform for users looking to send money to friends, it has become a broader hub for personal finance. The Cash Card debit card links to a user’s account and allows the purchase of items in the store or online. The Cash app also has a stock trading platform where people can buy split shares of shares or bitcoins through an interface that Block keeps attractive to normal people, in part because of the emphasis on company logos instead of ticker symbols.
Block saw more than 15 million monthly active users of its Cash Card product during March. In addition, four million accounts traded or had shares on the Cash App platform that month.
The summary announcement suggests that while there is likely to be an overlap between users of these two services, the company sees an opportunity to generate more links between them.
“We are excited when our products can work together well to provide great value and ease for our customers,” Budd told MarketWatch. He noted that the rounding feature will also be compatible with the Cash App Boost program, which allows users to choose from a rotating series of rewards, such as a 15% discount on a purchase at Shake Shack Inc. SHAK,
More generally, Block has sought to achieve synergies between different elements of its business, including loyalty programs and purchase purchases now and subsequent payment.