Cash App is now targeting kids as young as six. Parents will be able to open and fully control accounts for children ages 6–12, issuing parent-controlled debit cards, scheduling recurring transfers to simulate allowances, setting savings goals and imposing spending limits while retaining oversight.

What parents can do

  • Parents set up and fully control accounts for children aged 6–12, handling deposits, monitoring and spending limits.
  • Children do not access the Cash App interface; they receive a debit card linked to the parent-managed account for spending.
  • Parents can schedule recurring transfers (to simulate allowances), set savings goals and approve a limited set of peers to send money (the company cited grandparents as an example).
  • Accounts are eligible to earn interest, per Cash App’s announcement.

How kids move into full accounts

The product is positioned as an on-ramp to Cash App’s broader services. Children enrolled in the program can “graduate” to their own Cash App accounts at 13, but only with parental approval. At that point, they gain access to additional Cash App capabilities that are available to teens under parental oversight.

Cash App already allows teens, via sponsored accounts, to buy and sell bitcoin and trade stocks with adult monitoring until age 18.

Why Block is aiming at Gen Alpha

Block, the company behind Cash App, is expanding the app beyond peer-to-peer transfers into banking-like services and investment tools. The 6–12 product is part of a push to build earlier relationships with users who will become Gen Alpha and future teen customers.

Owen Jennings, executive officer and head of business at Block, said Cash App already serves millions of teen users, and the company’s view is that starting earlier increases long-term retention. Kristen Anderson, group product lead for Core Networks at Cash App, said the rollout is intended to teach kids about saving.

How the product compares to what’s out there

Several fintechs and banks already offer parent-controlled products for minors that combine parental controls with educational features. Cash App’s differentiators include its existing scale among teens and the eventual tie-in to its investment and crypto features for older teens. By keeping full account control with parents for 6–12-year-olds, Cash App avoids immediate regulatory and identity-verification hurdles while offering a prepaid-like spending card and scheduled transfers similar to existing family finance solutions.

Why this matters

This move is part of Block’s push to build earlier relationships with future customers. Cash App already serves millions of teen users, and the younger product creates a direct path into the app’s investment and crypto features when kids reach their teens.

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The next step for enrolled children is graduation: at 13 they can move into their own Cash App accounts, but only with parental approval — then gaining access to the app’s broader features.