How To Send Money On Cash App Under 18

As of this date, people have always wondered if teens under 18 can utilize Cash App. Furthermore, users frequently ask if their children as minors can safely use the money transfer application. That said, let's talk about our teens and Cash App.

[I'll go into detail in this article, but for me, it was too complicated to create a cash app account for my son and I didn't want him to share access to mine. We found Step (that's my son's referral link where you get $5) and have been extremely happy with how it works!]

[Update since we first started with Step — now you can get the cash app for teens that are 13-17. Here is the direct line from Cash App themselves and here's a vid I made on it. Woohoo!]

What is Cash App?

Cash App remains one of those applications that allow convenient payment services and money transferring purposes.

However, the application charges you for every transaction you've made, depending on the amount that you shared. It stays on the level of Paypal, but unlike the mentioned application, Cash App only allows users from the United States.

Both the sender and the receiver of the money need to be a resident of the US to allow the transaction.

Downloading the application is simple.

You need to go to App Store or Google Play and search for Cash App. The application should appear at the top of the list with its top-notch statistics. However, to assure you, the application's logo has a white dollar sign on a green platform. After finding the application, click the "Install" button on your screen.

Remember that Cash App only allows users from the United States. That means, if you don't live in the US, then the application will not work for you.

Also, Cash App runs a promo where a user with a referral code receives free $5. The promo only runs for new users and can just be received after a successful transaction.

With all those information introduced, let's jump into the topic once again.

Related Reading: Cash App vs. Venmo vs. Zelle – A Review

Why Should Minors Have Cash App With Them?

Why would people need a child or a minor to have their access or an account for Cash App? With all the advancements in technology in this generation, having a convenient way to transfer money to one another already became a necessity. With that fact mentioned, parents always set up a Cash App account for their children so they can easily send money.

Furthermore, minors, especially students, always need a way to receive money from their parents. Schools have lots of requirements and things to buy.

However, sometimes emergencies happen and you can't get cash to your kids.

So having a convenient money transfer application like Cash App is needed.

Related Reading: Similar to Cash App, but a card for minors – Greenlight

The Conflict

When setting up a Cash App account, the application requires an ID to prove that the holder is of legal age. Cash App is pretty clear that you have to be 18 to sign up [this is no longer the case! you can sign up from 13-17 if you have an authorized parent or guardian sponsor you].

That means that if a minor makes a Cash App account, the application will deny the ID.

Nonetheless, teens can still access the app even without an ID. But without the confirmation that the holder is 18 or above, the account can't perform the transaction.

Specifically, the account of the minors can receive money from the parents or sender. However, the user cannot use the amount transferred. The money will not move from the account; it can't be withdrawn or sent to another user.

To better explain the situation, supposed a kid has an unverified Cash App account. The parents can still send him money to buy school supplies.

Yet, the problem lies in how he can use the money. Since the account is unverified, the kid cannot withdraw the cast sent to him, nor will he be able to transfer it to pay the receipt.

So, to fully functionalize the application, they need to verify the user's age through ID.

This is what happened to me.
I thought it would be wise to set my son up with his own Cash App card to use.
So he now has a cash app account and can transfer money with friends, but he can't use the Visa Card with it.
That's why we switched to Step.
You can also read more about Step in my Greenlight Card Review article.

Popular Option to Solve the Problem

One solution requires the user to give a Cash App Cash Card or a Visa Card to the minor. In that situation, the kid would not need to verify his age anymore. Instead, all the minor needs to do is perform the transaction after inputting the PIN on the card.

I decided against this.
While I trust my teen, I also use my cash app to collect payments so I don't want to cause issues.
It would worry me for a large payment to come through my cash app, but my son has the card in his possession for use.
So we scratched this idea.

But this is how the example would work.
Let's say the parent only wants the kid to spend $10 of money from the Cash Card. Then the parent should put just the said amount into the card before giving it to the child.

That way, the minor only has access to the allocated 10 dollars. Also, it assures the parent that the child will not overspend. Nonetheless, if the kid needs more money, then the parent could add more amount to the Cash Card.

The solution mentioned remained as a viable option for parents that want their child to have a Cash App Account. However, their children can potentially face a conflict when going for this option.

For example, the cashier might seek an ID to verify if the kid owns the card. If the credentials do not match, then they might treat the act as fraudulent.

This could cause an issue. However, if the minor can successfully provide the PIN, then the store might let him off the hook.

Also, another solution that users suggest is for the parents to set up another account of their own for their child to access.

That way, not only do they give their child access to the application, but they also have the capability to track the transactions that occurred. Since they initially own the account, they know the email and password, thus can easily access it.

I thought about this method but didn't want to have to keep track of two different cash app accounts. So we went for using Step instead.

Related Reading: Transfer Money from Venmo to Your Cash App Card

Conclusion

Currently, there isn't a way to directly use a cash app card if you're less than 18 years old. In order to do so, a parent would have to allow the teenager to use their account. The verification requires an ID from the user, which means minors do not have the means to verify their account. In order to let minors use the application, parents can provide solutions such as using cards or adding another account.

But we found a great solution, specifically using Step.

So whether you want to amend your cash app process to allow your child to use or find a different solution such as Greenlight or Step (that's a link that gives you $5 if you want to try it out).
The choice is yours. Good luck!