Robinhood Rolls Out 1.80% APY Cash Management Account to First Customers
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A year after its first attempt to launch a bank-style account, brokerage app Robinhood announced today that it has begun to roll out its new cash management feature — which offers 1.80% APY on uninvested cash — to the first set of customers who were on the Robinhood Cash Management waitlist.
Cash management accounts, which have risen in prominence over the past year, are typically offered by nonbank financial institutions, like investment firms and robo-advisors. They allow customers to spend and save money in one account, often earning a higher interest rate than accounts at traditional brick-and-mortar banks. Customers typically also have the benefit of connecting a brokerage account, which allows them to keep multiple accounts under the same roof.
on Wealthfront's website
Wealthfront Cash Account
5.00%
$1
on Betterment's website
Betterment Cash Reserve – Paid non-client promotion
5.50%
$0
Robinhood Cash Management features
Robinhood Cash Management customers will receive a Mastercard debit card — issued by Sutton Bank — with one of four different designs (green, white, black or American Flag), and they will be able to withdraw cash for free from more than 75,000 ATMs. Customers can use Cash Management to pay bills as well as to fund Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. The feature has no account minimums, no transfer fees and no foreign transaction fees; other fees may still apply to a customer’s Robinhood brokerage account.
» TOP PICKS: See NerdWallet's best cash management accounts
FDIC coverage
Like other brokerages offering cash management accounts, Robinhood can’t directly offer Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage. It works with partner banks to automatically sweep customers’ funds into FDIC-protected accounts, thereby providing up to $1.25 million in federal insurance.
Last year, Robinhood attempted to launch a 3.00% APY cash management feature on its own, but it never left the ground: Regulators took issue with the lack of federal insurance on deposits. Now Robinhood, like other CMA providers, has a workaround that allows it to offer a banklike product.
Details about the APY
Cash Management’s 1.80% annual percentage yield is lower than the 2.05% APY that the company touted when it announced the feature was in the works in October, but it falls in line with the downward trend in interest rates that cash management accounts have been experiencing in recent months. The company said that customers can start earning interest with as little as $1.
Those interested in the account can still join the Robinhood Cash Management waitlist to be notified when it becomes available to the next block of customers.
