Consumer Finance Watchdog Asks Block To Pay $175M Over Cash App Deficiencies: Retail Remains Unfazed
According to the CFPB, Block allowed fraud to proliferate and closed reported fraud cases without opening a legally required investigation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Block Inc., the operator of peer-to-peer payments app Cash App, to pay $175 million in refunds, compensation, and penalties for certain deficiencies.
According to the CFPB, Block allowed fraud to proliferate and closed reported fraud cases without opening a legally required investigation.
The consumer finance watchdog also stated that Block employed weak security protocols for Cash App, putting its users at risk. Block also deployed a range of tactics to suppress Cash App users from seeking help, reducing its own costs.
“While Block is required by law to investigate and resolve disputes about unauthorized transactions, the company’s investigations were woefully incomplete. Block directed users — who had suffered financial losses as a result of fraud — to ask their bank to attempt to reverse transactions, which Block would subsequently deny,” the CFPB said.
The consumer finance watchdog’s order requires Block to pay up to $120 million in refunds and other redress to affected consumers, to set up 24-hour, live-person customer service, to fully investigate unauthorized transactions and provide timely refunds where appropriate, and pay a $55 million penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
Notably, state regulators have separately ordered Block to pay $80 million for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering laws.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said Cash App created the conditions for fraud to proliferate on its popular payment platform. “When things went wrong, Cash App flouted its responsibilities and even burdened local banks with problems that the company caused,” he said.
Meanwhile, Block responded, saying, “While we strongly disagree with the CFPB’s mischaracterizations, we made the decision to settle this matter in the interest of putting it behind us and focusing on what’s best for our customers and our business.”
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment on Block shares climbed into the ‘neutral’ territory (54/100) from ‘bearish’ a day ago. The move was accompanied by ‘high’ message volume.

Despite the negative news, Block shares traded over 2% higher on Thursday noon. The stock has gained over 33% over the past year.
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