Block's Cash App: Can Banking Engagement Keep Scaling?

Zacks Zacks Ouvrir sur Zacks
Block's Cash App: Can Banking Engagement Keep Scaling?

Block’s XYZ banking engagement strategy is continuing to gain momentum as Cash App evolves from a peer-to-peer payments platform into a broader consumer financial ecosystem. The company’s core banking engagement metric, Cash App Primary Banking Actives (PBAs), increased 18% year over year to 9.7 million in March 2026 compared with 8.3 million a year earlier and 9.3 million in December 2025. PBAs include customers receiving wage-related ACH or original credit inflows, or users spending at least $500 monthly across Cash App products such as Cash App Card, Cash App Pay, Afterpay through Cash App and ACH bill pay.

Customer engagement is also strengthening through higher inflows. Cash App inflows per transacting active rose 10% year over year to $1,494, supported partly by more users directing paychecks into Cash App accounts. Total Cash App inflows climbed 14% year over year to $88 billion, highlighting deeper usage across the ecosystem.

Block is further enhancing engagement through Cash App Green, which is helping the platform expand into newer geographies and attract younger consumers, with Green cohorts averaging age 34. Management noted that customers actively using Green benefits are demonstrating stronger retention trends. The company also broadened its banking capabilities by launching managed accounts for children aged 6 to 12, allowing parents to oversee savings, transfers and Cash App Card customization.

Stronger banking engagement is also driving lending growth. Consumer Lending Origination Volume surged 82% year over year to $17.6 billion in first-quarter 2026, primarily fueled by Cash App Borrow. Together, these trends reinforce Cash App’s transition into a more comprehensive digital financial platform.

How Are Square’s Competitors Fairing?

PayPal PYPL, through its Venmo platform, offers peer-to-peer payments, digital wallets, instant transfers, debit-card spending and merchant checkout solutions. Venmo benefits from broad merchant acceptance and strong integration across e-commerce platforms, giving it a meaningful advantage in digital commerce and online payments.

Chime CHYM focuses on mobile-first banking, direct deposits, debit-card usage, savings tools and customer-friendly financial accounts. These offerings overlap closely with Cash App’s initiatives to expand paycheck inflows, grow Cash App Card adoption and strengthen primary banking relationships. Chime’s emphasis on everyday banking engagement makes it a notable rival as Cash App continues evolving into a full-service consumer financial platform.

XYZ’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Block have risen 19.6% over the past year, outperforming the broader industry but underperforming the S&P 500 Index.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

In terms of forward 12-month P/E, XYZ stock is trading at 17.4X, which is at a discount to the Zacks Internet Software industry’s 27.19X.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Block’s estimate revisions reflect a positive trend. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2026 EPS has been revised northward 4.6% over the past month. It indicates a significant increase year over year.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Block currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"

Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.

This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.

Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report


 
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Block, Inc. (XYZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Chime Financial, Inc. (CHYM): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research