Physical checks are much less common in everyday life than they used to be — in 2021, the Federal Reserve only collected an average of 14.5 million daily checks.
While that might sound like a lot, it’s way less than the average of about 75 million collected daily in the early 1990s.
Physical checks will likely only continue to become rarer — most credit unions and member-FDIC banks will likely follow the trend and move toward electronic check-cashing, utilizing check-cashing apps and mobile banking apps that clients can use on their mobile devices.
There are many more efficient ways to make purchases or transfer money to another account. Credit cards and debit cards don’t usually require account numbers or routing numbers to buy things. You can even handle your paychecks with direct deposits without manually cashing them.
Depositing checks might not be as standard as it used to be, but it’s still something that you should know how to do. Like ATMs and money orders, depositing checks will likely be around for a while.
The good news is that you can deposit a check directly through the Cash App — and the better news is that it’s more convenient than going to a bank once you know how to do it.
What Is Cash App?
Cash App was officially launched as “Square Cash” on October 15, 2013. Twitter creator Jack Dorsey co-founded the mobile payment platform to compete with similar services such as Paypal, Venmo, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. The idea behind these services was to allow users to make online payments as conveniently as possible.
At the time, making an online payment required several verification steps and time-consuming delays. Identity theft exploded in the late 1990s and early 2000s, so financial institutions installed various countermeasures to protect their users.
Cash App and the other services wanted to streamline these countermeasures to keep users protected while speeding up the process of transferring money. Using an app to transfer money or make payments is a widespread occurrence these days. The top ten mobile payment apps currently have more than 3.3 billion uses combined across the world.
However, Cash App and the other services didn’t immediately catch on with the public when they were first released. Smartphones and apps were nowhere near as common or influential in the mid-2010s as they are today.
In 2016 (three years after launching), Cash App only had about three million total users. The app's popularity would steadily increase as technology improved and became more readily available. By 2021 (less than ten years after launching), the total number of users would increase by over 1,300% as more than 44 million people had a Cash App account.
Part of the reason for the popularity of Cash App is that it’s available for teens. Most mobile payment apps require users to be at least 18 years old — Cash App, on the other hand, is accessible for people as young as 13 if their parent or guardian signs off on the idea.
How Do You Deposit a Check Using Cash App?
The process of depositing a check using Cash App isn’t complicated. Let’s just say that it’s significantly easier than deleting your account.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to deposit a check using the Cash App:
- Make sure the check meets the necessary conditions. Cash App has specific requirements for depositing a check, including:
- The check must be made out to the owner of the Cash App account
- The check is payable in U.S. dollars
- You’ve correctly signed the check (writing both your name and “Cash App Deposit” under the signature)
- The total amount is less than or equal to your deposit limit ($3,500 per check and $7,500 per month)
- The check hasn’t already expired, been deposited, or altered in any way
- Open up the Cash App. Tap the green box icon that has a white dollar sign inside. Make sure that you’re signed into your account. In the bottom left corner of your screen, you should see an icon that looks like a building with pillars. This is known as the “bank icon,” and you’ll need to select it to continue.
- Select the “Checks” option. You’ll need to use the keypad to manually enter the amount of the check. Double-check to ensure you entered the correct amount, and select “Confirm Amount” to continue.
Next, you’ll need to confirm that the front and back of the check are written correctly. If your check matches the one on your screen, select “Confirm front of check,” which is the box beside the “The check is written correctly” option.
Do the same for the back of the check by selecting “Confirm back of check” if the back of your check matches the app’s example.
- Select the “Take Photo” option. You’ll need to take a photo of the front and the back of the check. The camera on your phone should open, and you’ll be able to capture a picture of the front of the check. There should be grids appearing on your phone.
Use them to line up the corners of your check. Cash App automatically takes a picture when the contents become clear. You might have to use a dark background before the image is acceptable. Flip the check over and do the same for the back of the check.
- Select the “Submit” option. You should receive verification for the deposit amount and a disclaimer stating that the funds won’t be immediately available. It usually takes Cash App between three and four business days to deposit the amount into your account.
It’s important to note that depositing a check might not be available to you. Not all users have access to this feature yet, as it’s still relatively new. If you tried to follow the above steps and couldn’t find the icons or options, you won’t be able to deposit your check.
You’re not entirely out of luck if you’re one of the users without access to mobile check deposits. Check the eligibility requirements, and you can contact Cash App customer service if all else fails.
Alternatively, you might have to get creative, but there are a few other options for adding the money to your account.
What Are Other Ways To Add Money to Your Cash App Account?
Most Cash App users prefer to link their bank accounts to their Cash App accounts. You don’t need to do it when opening an account; you only have to provide your name, ZIP code, phone number, or email address.
However, linking your account is good as you’ll have access to more Cash App features and can quickly transfer money between your accounts.
Not having access to the mobile check deposit feature in the Cash App won’t be an issue if you link your bank account. You can simply deposit the check in your bank account and manually transfer the money over to Cash App.
It gets a little more complicated if you haven’t linked your bank account. These are a few ways that you can get the contents of your check into your Cash App account:
- Make a cash deposit at a partner store. You can deposit cash to your Cash App account by visiting the following stores: CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, 7-Eleven, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Target, and Walmart.
Go to the cashier, give them the details of your Cash App account, and hand over the cash you want to deposit. If you’re using a check, ensure you aren’t over the check deposit limit.
- Purchase a Mastercard gift card. You can’t obtain a gift card directly from Cash App just yet. But you can deposit the funds on a Mastercard gift card to your account. After you buy the gift card, you’ll need to go to the “Add Cash'' option in the Cash App app.
You’ll have to enter the amount of money being transferred and the information on the prepaid gift card.
- Pay another Cash App user to transfer money. Cash App's whole point is to transfer money from one person to the next. If you know someone with Cash App, you could pay them in cash in exchange for a Cash App transfer.
You could even sign your check over to them in return for them transferring the balance to your account.
Save Time by Linking Your Yotta Account
Depositing a check directly into your Cash App account isn’t difficult. However, it’s not a feature that’s currently available to everyone. The best action is to link your bank account directly to Cash App. You can transfer your funds whenever you need to and avoid having to find workarounds for depositing checks.
A better idea is to create a Yotta account and enroll in direct deposit. This way, you can get your money earlier and won't have to bother with depositing paper checks anymore.
You can easily link your Yotta account to Cash App so that every transfer can be as smooth as possible. Then again, you might reconsider transferring any money out of your Yotta account once you open it.
Yotta uses prize-linked savings, so it pays for you to save money. The more money you have in your Yotta account, the better your odds of winning the sweepstakes.
As mentioned earlier, the Cash App monthly deposit limit is $7,500. You could win enough money from Yotta that it would take years to transfer into your Cash App account.
Visit Yotta today to learn more about how over 500,000 people supercharge their finances.
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