What's the Minimum Age Required to Have a Cash App Account?

The financial landscape for teenagers has shifted significantly. Cash App, the mobile payment platform owned by Square, has lowered its age requirement to make digital money management accessible to younger users. Here’s what you need to know about Cash App age requirements and how teens can get started with their own accounts.

Cash App Now Opens to Teens as Young as 13

Until recently, Cash App required all users to be at least 18 years old. This changed when the platform announced it would begin accepting users as young as 13 in the United States. This represents a major shift in how digital finance is becoming democratized for younger generations who are growing up in an increasingly cashless society.

According to Cash App’s official statements, the decision to lower the age requirement was made to “help level the playing field and equip teens with the tools they need to participate in the economy.” The move reflects a broader trend where major financial service providers are recognizing that teenagers need practical experience with money management tools.

How Teens Can Set Up Their Cash App Accounts

Getting started is straightforward for teenagers. The process begins by downloading the Cash App and creating a free account. However, there’s an important verification step involved.

When a teen attempts to request a Cash Card or send money, the app will ask for identity verification. For users between 13 and 17 years old, the system requires parental authorization. Specifically, the teenager must provide their parent or guardian’s email address, phone number, or $cashtag username. Cash App then contacts that adult to confirm approval of the teen’s account.

One critical requirement: the parent or guardian must have their own identity-verified Cash App account in order to authorize the teen’s request. Additionally, the adult becomes the legal account owner, meaning they retain full oversight capabilities.

Once parental approval is granted, the teenager can order a physical Cash Card—essentially a Visa debit card linked to their Cash App balance. While the card typically arrives within two weeks, teens can begin making purchases immediately through Apple Pay and Google Pay in the interim.

Understanding Cash App’s Teen User Limits and Restrictions

Cash App doesn’t give teenagers unrestricted access to all features. Approved users aged 13 to 17 can send, receive, and request up to $1,000 every 30 days through the platform. They’re allowed to add a maximum of $7,500 to their balance each month and withdraw up to $25,000 per week from ATMs.

Additional capabilities include setting up direct deposit for paychecks, accessing Boosts (which offer instant rewards at retailers like Starbucks, Burger King, and DoorDash), and receiving payments from friends.

However, several features remain off-limits for teenage users. They cannot invest, buy or sell Bitcoin, deposit checks, or make cross-border payments. Their Cash Cards also cannot be used at bars, nightclubs, liquor stores, hotels, or casinos. Purchases for car rentals, cigars, dating services, bail payments, and similar transactions are similarly restricted.

The parent or guardian maintains visibility into all transactions through their monthly statements and can deactivate the Cash Card or account at any time through the app.

How This Compares to Other Teen-Focused Financial Services

Cash App isn’t alone in recognizing the market for teen financial tools. Greenlight operates by allowing parents to oversee their children’s debit cards while encouraging saving habits and controlling where they can shop. Step offers fee-free bank accounts for teens with the support of an adult sponsor, providing a secured Step Card.

For comparison, Venmo and PayPal have maintained their original age requirement of 18 years old (or the age of majority in a user’s state), making Cash App more accessible to younger teenagers.

This competitive landscape suggests that financial institutions increasingly view teenagers as an important demographic that needs digital finance solutions to build healthy money habits early. As payment systems continue to move away from physical cash, providing age-appropriate tools becomes essential for financial literacy development.