Oakland, Calif. – Today Cash App, a component of Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ), announced a pilot program that provides select customers with access to their Cash App Score. This score offers a near real-time assessment of a Cash App customer’s financial health, aiming to empower users to understand how their daily financial activities within Cash App influence their eligibility for Cash App Borrow.
The new feature allows pilot participants to view their current score within the Cash App Score tile, along with personalized insights. The interface outlines specific actions that may impact their score, such as maintaining funds in their Cash App Balance, depositing a paycheck, or making timely repayments on Cash App Borrow loans. The score dynamically updates shortly after these actions are taken, reflecting progress over time.
Brian Boates, Risk Lead at Block, stated, “We’ve been using our near real-time underwriting models to power credit products for years. What the Cash App Score pilot does is give customers transparency into how their credit eligibility is determined. For the first time, customers in the pilot can see their scores, understand what factors are influencing them, and take specific actions to build their financial health within Cash App. It’s really about making something that’s traditionally been opaque much more accessible to people.”The Cash App Score relies on actual financial behavior, including earning, saving, spending, and repayment patterns, rather than traditional debt metrics. Data indicates that over 70% of active Cash App Borrow customers, despite having FICO scores below 580, maintain a 97% repayment rate. This statistic highlights the predictive potential of behavioral data when compared to historical credit reports. Block views this initiative as a significant step in the evolution of credit scoring, fostering a system based on transparency and opportunity by measuring current financial capability.
The Cash App Score leverages the same underwriting model that supports existing Cash App credit products, continuously analyzing financial activity across the platform. This includes paycheck deposits, spending habits, savings balance activity, and repayment history. The score is recalibrated in near real-time and presented to the customer weekly to reflect their current financial standing within the Cash App ecosystem. Block’s AI tools were utilized to translate complex model features into user-friendly concepts and actionable recommendations.
Customers in the pilot can access the Score tile within Cash App to view their score and understand its drivers. The experience suggests actions to improve the score, which then adjusts accordingly. The tile also illustrates how an increased score could lead to benefits, such as a higher Cash App Borrow limit. A broader rollout of the Cash App Score is anticipated to commence in 2026.
Traditional credit systems often depend on static, backward-looking data that may not accurately reflect an individual’s financial health. These systems frequently overemphasize long credit histories, penalize those with limited credit files, and contribute to biases that restrict nearly 100 million Americans from accessing affordable credit. These systemic issues have also led to younger generations losing trust in conventional credit products, with 63% of Gen Z credit card owners switching to alternative payment methods, 57% expressing misunderstanding of credit card terms, and 68% reporting anxiety from credit card bills.
Block’s credit models, which power Cash App Borrow, Afterpay, and Square Loans, employ near real-time financial data instead of delayed credit bureau reports. Through these products, Block has facilitated access to nearly $200 billion in credit globally while maintaining low loss rates. This infrastructure has enabled 38% more Cash App Borrow loan approvals at the same loss rate compared to traditional credit underwriting methods, demonstrating the enhanced predictiveness and inclusivity of models based on live financial activity.
About Cash App: Cash App provides financial services including early paycheck access via direct deposit, spending with a personalized Cash App Card where Visa is accepted, and saving with a separate savings balance, all without hidden fees. Customers can also use a unique $Cashtag for payments, make purchases with Cash App Pay, trade stocks and cryptocurrency, and utilize Cash App Afterpay. Banking services are provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s), with prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Savings and direct deposit are provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Afterpay is offered and managed through Cash App, with eligibility based on several factors. Borrow loans are serviced by Square Financial Services, Inc. and issued by First Electronic Bank or Square Financial Services, Inc.
About Block, Inc.: Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) develops technology to broaden access to the global economy through brands like Square for sellers, Cash App for money management, Afterpay for spending over time, TIDAL for artists, Bitkey for bitcoin self-custody, and Proto for bitcoin mining.
