Robinhood’s new debit card invests for you

Future. Robinhood is rolling out a new debit card that allows users to automatically round up purchases to put towards investing in stocks, cryptocurrencies, or other assets on the platform. If widely adopted, the debit card could turn every purchase into a passive investment… and send Robinhood usage through the roof.

Crypto round-up
Robinhood wants you to spend money to make money.

• The company’s new debit card, dubbed the Robinhood Cash Card, has a feature that allows charges to be rounded up to the nearest dollar.
• Users can choose to use that spare change to invest in stocks, cryptocurrencies, or other expenses.
• Robinhood is also giving users an extra 10-100% of their weekly round-up amount (up to $10) for using the feature — an exact amount determined by a “variable reward algorithm.”

Doge on debit
The Cash Card is a replacement for the company’s Cash Management debit card, which has some analysts speculating why Robinhood didn’t opt for the traditional credit card route.

Chief product officer Aparna Chennapragada explained the move: “A lot more younger folks are debit-primary, first of all, either because their credit score is not built up or, with the credit card companies, they can see how they can get bogged down, they want to be more in control of their cash flows.”

Translation: “Gen-Z doesn’t want credit card debt, but they’re more than happy to gamble on the Doge.”