The news: Cash App will offer Afterpay on the Cash App Card powered by a new Visa Debit Flex Card, per a press release.
The feature will go live in the coming months with a larger rollout planned for early 2026.
How we got here: Block has been unifying its payments ecosystems. It brought Afterpay to Cash App and launched Neighborhoods, a network comprising local Square sellers and Cash App users. Block CEO Jack Dorsey anticipates merging Square and Cash App in one entity down the line, per an earnings call transcript from Q4 2024.
Afterpay’s availability on the Cash App Card continues that strategy, bringing easily accessible credit to Cash App’s 26 million monthly active cardholders.
BNPL’s rise: Cash App is likely to capture even more volume with Afterpay added to its debit card. Consumers crave installment loans at checkout: 45% of US consumers who have used both BNPL and a credit card over a one-year period prefer BNPL, per a survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Affirm.
Recent earnings also demonstrate BNPL’s role as a major growth driver:
With a BNPL-enabled card, Cash App Afterpay can snag more volume at in-store checkout, where the majority of purchases happen: US physical retail sales will generate $6,253.11 billion in sales in 2026, per our forecast.
Our take: Expanding BNPL offerings helps encourage spending from consumers who can’t access a credit card under tightening underwriting conditions.
While the Cash App card is already geared toward underserved and underbanked consumers, rewards or features for young parents could help capture their hunger for credit: Two-thirds of caregivers hold three or more BNPL loans at once, per a Lending Tree survey.