Last week at SBC Summit Americas, PayNearMe announced the launch of Cash App Pay for use in real-money gaming.
It’s not an ordinary announcement, not when 59 million people, many of them Gen Z – born from 1997 to 2012 – use Cash App instead of traditional banks.
“It is a very large account for stored value,” PayNearMe Vice President, Gaming & Sports Betting Leighton Webb said during the summit. “People use Cash App for everything, from paying for items to taxes. … People are using Cash App basically as their bank.”
Whereas an app such as Venmo is transactional – people use it to send money to a friend, for instance – Cash App has replaced banks for its users.
“Effectively they’re using it for their financial life,” Webb said. “What’s unique about Cash App is that if you think of it as an ecosystem, it is bringing that ecosystem to the gaming audience. Fifty-nine million people, billions and billions of dollars of transactions, through that Cash App ecosystem.”
With close to 60 millions users, that’s about one of every seven people in the United States using Cash App. Webb says that compared to PayPal, which skews to an older user, Cash App’s users tend to be younger.
“A big segment of that audience is a younger demographic, but again, what’s unique is right now those users, they’re playing on gaming apps but they don’t have a way to use their primary payment method,” Webb says. “Our research consistently shows that payment choice directly impacts player engagement. When players can use their preferred payment method, they’re more likely to complete transactions and remain active. Convenience matters — just as consumers often favor merchants that accept Apple Pay, players are drawn to gaming platforms that support the payment experiences they prefer.”
Online players in Arkansas can pay for gaming with Cash App. BetSaracen is the first operator worldwide to go live, with additional operators expected to launch in the second half of 2026. BetSaracen, the sports wagering arm of Saracen Casino Resort, is one of America’s top-performing single-state operators.
“Our players expect payment options that are fast, simple and aligned with how they manage their money,” said Saracen Casino Resort General Manager Matt Harkness. “Payments are everything, and adding Cash App Pay gives us a seamless way to meet those expectations while expanding the payment choices available in our app.”
Webb says Cash App users can use it to pay for igaming play. They also have a debit card that can be used to withdraw money in brick-and-mortar from ATMs. But so far, there are no plans to make Cash App available for cashless payments at casinos.
“I think people in general, they’re not looking to add new payment types,” Webb says. “You probably use one or two credit cards and your debit card. It’s very difficult to get someone to sign up with a brand new payment type, a new way of doing things. Versus with Cash App — we’re getting them to use something they’re already using, and they prefer to use.”
“That tender is available to them, and they’re going to be more inclined to use it because they’re already using it regularly,” Webb says. “It’s not a new tender that’s being introduced. We’re not trying to get people to sign up and have them do things in a different way. That’s the key thing. I think where companies struggle is when they try to introduce a new tender and say, ‘hey, here’s this new thing, we want you to do things in a new way.’ That’s very difficult to do.”
