Robinhood (HOOD) is partnering with Gopuff — a food and drink delivery app — to allow customers to withdraw money from their Robinhood bank accounts and have it delivered for a fee, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The delivery fee ranges from $2.99 to $6.99, depending on your account balance.
Robinhood Banking’s cash delivery service has already rolled out in New York and will launch in a few other major cities in the coming months, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Customers must be members of Robinhood Gold and must have direct deposits of at least $1,000 a month set up to their Robinhood bank accounts.
The cash delivery service will be available, at least initially, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, according to Gopuff co-CEO Yakir Gola.
“Everything gets delivered to their house from burritos to medicine,” said Robinhood Money vice president and general manager Deepak Rao in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “Why not cash? Now imagine any reason you could ever think of for going to the bank.”
Read more: How to save cash: 7 ways to protect and grow your liquid savings
Cash may have been king in the past, but it’s not really all about the benjamins anymore. In fact, according to an analysis by Capital One, 47.8% of American adults make no cash purchases in a typical week. In the U.S., an estimated 87.4% of all transactions are now cashless.
Still, experts say there are instances when using cash could make sense — and even help you save.
“It makes sense to use cash instead of digital payments when you want tighter spending control, when small merchants charge card fees, when you want privacy, or when you need reliability during outages,” said Andrew Latham, a certified financial planner with SuperMoney.com, noting that research supports the idea that consumers tend to spend more when using digital payment methods because it removes the “pain of paying” or that feeling of physical cash leaving your wallet each time you make a purchase.
On the upside, using cash to cover certain purchases can help you avoid merchant credit card fees and protect your privacy because there is no paper trail when you pay for a purchase in cash. It can also act as a safety net in the event of a power outage or card network failure.
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Should you decide to hop on the bandwagon, it’s important to know how to manage your cash responsibly and how to keep it safe.
First off, think about how much cash you plan to carry. Ultimately, carrying around a huge sum of cash in your wallet is risky because if someone gets their hands on it, there’s no way of recovering that money. However, some merchants only accept cash, so there may be situations where it’s necessary to have some physical cash in your wallet.
“Most people do well keeping between $40 and $100 in their wallet, depending on where they live and how often they run into cash-only situations,” said Latham. “This amount typically covers tipping, parking, local vendors, and emergencies. If you are going to a market, festival, or traveling, it makes sense to carry between $100 and $200 in smaller bills.”
Ultimately, you don’t want to overdo it. Carrying around too much cash not only poses a potential risk of losing it, but it also means your cash isn’t generating any interest just sitting in your wallet. By putting your money in a high-yield savings account, you could give it a chance to earn interest over time.
Still, if you do need cash in a pinch, you may be able to skip a trip to the ATM and order it from the comfort of your home.
Read more: 5 common mistakes people make when ‘cash stuffing’
There are instances, however, when paying in cash could cost you, and it could make sense to swipe your debit card instead. Some of those instances include:
Sporting venues: Many stadiums only accept digital payment methods because there are so many people in attendance and cash payments would slow things down, leading to longer lines and fewer transactions. In some cases, your cash may not be accepted.
Entertainment venues: Many entertainment venues may not accept cash or might charge a fee for using it (think: zoos, amusement parks, and arcades). These places want to keep transactions quick and simple and may ask you to load a prepaid card with your cash instead of paying with physical cash.
Utility companies: It is still possible to pay for certain bills with cash, but it may not be worth your while. Covering your bills in cash may incur an additional charge, and there’s the added trip to the convenience or drug store to make your payment.
Parking tickets: Getting hit with a parking ticket can be a real financial drag, but it could put an even bigger dent in your budget if you decide to pay for that ticket in cash — doing so could add an additional fee on top of the penalty.
Toll charges: Many tolls have gone cashless and will send you a notice in the mail detailing your charges and information on how to pay up. Typically, you’ll be asked to make a payment online or send a check in the mail. You can still make a cash payment, but there will be a fee tacked on to that.
Taxes: Uncle Sam takes cash payments via one of the IRS’s retail partners, but it can cost you a fee of up to $2.50 for every $500 payment.
Before you opt to pay for something in cash, do some research to figure out whether or not your cash will be accepted, and if it is, you still may want to consider whether swiping your plastic could help you save a few dollars.
