Robinhood Offers To Bring Cash To Your Doorstep, for a Fee (yahoo.com) 82
An anonymous reader shares a report: Robinhood Markets is betting its Gen Z and millennial clientele are as eager to send out for delivery of a wad of cash as they are to order pizza or a pint of ice cream.
The brokerage is joining with food-and-drink delivery app Gopuff to allow customers to withdraw cash from their Robinhood bank accounts and have it brought right to their door. For a $6.99 delivery fee -- or $2.99 if they have more than $100,000 in assets across their Robinhood accounts -- users can skip the ATM and have money delivered in a sealed paper bag while they are at home.
It is a new feature that Robinhood first teased in March, when Chief Executive Vlad Tenev unveiled the company's plans to roll out many traditional and -- as with its cash-delivery service -- unconventional banking services.
The brokerage is joining with food-and-drink delivery app Gopuff to allow customers to withdraw cash from their Robinhood bank accounts and have it brought right to their door. For a $6.99 delivery fee -- or $2.99 if they have more than $100,000 in assets across their Robinhood accounts -- users can skip the ATM and have money delivered in a sealed paper bag while they are at home.
It is a new feature that Robinhood first teased in March, when Chief Executive Vlad Tenev unveiled the company's plans to roll out many traditional and -- as with its cash-delivery service -- unconventional banking services.
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Yes. Makes perfect sense. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
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Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Yep. Everything wil gopuff!
they will be 1099's er and not allowed to C&C (Score:2)
they will be 1099's er and not allowed to C&C
What could possibly go wrong? (Score:4, Interesting)
That's the joke I'm looking for on the story--and the obvious answer is that cunning and evil hackers can use it to get cash. Or maybe no hacking will even be required?
Of course any old examples are obsolete, but I'll mention one that I heard about recently. The crooks contacted real estate dealers and arranged for a "private showing" of a house. They got the keys from the realtor and then went to the property and waited for a delivery that was carefully scheduled to arrive at the time of the private showing. Can't remember what stuff they wanted delivered anonymously, perhaps drugs, but it's pretty obvious how the approach could be adapted for this.
And I was already convinced that Robinhood is another criminal enterprise, but just part of what the stock market has become. Dow Jones is actually at the root of the problem with the fake race that constantly replaces "members of the relay team" with faster runners at any random point in the race. The only requirement is that your alleged company produce bigger profits faster until Dow Jones adds your scam company to replace some value-based-on-sordid-reality company. I'm "pert' shure" Enron could have made it if they had only been able to keep the crooked books hidden another year or so... (That would have been a "Shocked, shocked" joke.
robbery setup and other scams (Score:2)
robbery setup and other scams
How dumb can people be? (Score:2, Funny)
You'd have to be a real dumb ass to pay for this.
Why? (Score:2)
Paying people to bring you toilet paper or soft drinks is pretty uncontroversial. What makes money different?
I'd also note that $2.99 is less than the ATM fee at the closest ATM to my house. I don't use Robinhood, but it would be $.51cheaper for me to have them bring me money than to go to the nearest ATM.
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You're painting a target on your back.
Re: Why? (Score:3)
You're painting a target on your back.
And the delivery driver's.
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Because what use do you have for cash at home?
And if you're going out somewhere, you can visit an ATM on the way.
And even if you are going out, how often do you actually need cash? The vast majority of places will accept cards, mobile payments or bank transfers etc.
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Drug delivery is the most obvious. I remember a couple of times I was preparing to head to the airport, needed cash, and might well have used something like this.
And even if you are going out, how often do you actually need cash?
I regularly use cash. "Need" doesn't have anything to do with it, I just prefer the simplicity.
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Drug delivery is the most obvious. I remember a couple of times I was preparing to head to the airport, needed cash, and might well have used something like this.
I've never been to an airport that doesn't have an ATM.
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"Because what use do you have for cash at home?"
Allowance for the kid. Pay the babysitter. Pay the guy who just painted your fence. Repay your sister for the birthday card you gave your elderly mother.
Etc.
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In an of itself, that's a perfectly cromulant opinion to hold, but I doubt it's going to be shared by a bunch of people with Robinhood accounts paying electronically for the delivery of "freedfrom from techy surfdom". :D
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Paying people to bring you toilet paper or soft drinks is pretty uncontroversial.
Is it uncontroversial, though? I can't be the only one on here that thinks paying someone else to go pick up a burrito for you is fundamentally stupid.
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Nope. You're spot on.
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You are not alone. For giggles I went to Doordash to see what a Big Mac Value Meal would be delivered. There's a McDonalds less than 5 miles from my location.
"$18.92 total before taxes" and having not used Doordash I'm guessing there is an expectation on top of that. So maybe $24 for a Big Mac meal delivered...that's batsh-t crazy. But no doubt people do this, and those people are likely the ones who aren't in a great position to afford it. I dunno, it's hard to see stuff like this...like paying to
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Other than it being more expensive, slower, and all-around worse, it was perfect.
Because.... (Score:2)
It depends largely on two things:
- how scarce is time, vs. how scarce is money
- how good are you at planning ahead
Customers of Gopuff / Instacart / etc are mostly, almost by definition, people who don't mind spending some money to free up some time.
And I suspect that they're largely people who don't have a habit of keeping enough of everything at home (in the fridge or otherwise).
Fifty years old, settled into a routine, and frugal? Definitely not the target customer, but maybe in a pinch.
Twenty, well paid,
Re: Why? (Score:2, Insightful)
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Well, if you're the type to pay ATM fees, I guess this service is right up your alley.
996 (Score:5, Insightful)
Basically you don't have time for anything so at some point if you have an errand you need to run you end up having to pay somebody else to do it even if it's something as simple and stupid as this.
You justify it by saying that you're getting paid at your job enough to cover this but you're actually massively overworking yourself and you will eventually burn out. Meanwhile the company you work for is using you up and eventually when you're dried up they will throw you out like used toilet paper.
When you see stuff like this it's a sign of a failing system.
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You were pissed off to find out your kids were being trained to do their first post-college job? What?
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This (Score:1)
Back when I was a kid there was a line between school work and on the job training and you got paid for on the job training. I am pretty certain the old farts floating around this forum also got paid for actual on the job training.
Now not only do kids not get paid for on the job training they pay for the privilege
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Basically you don't have time for anything so at some point if you have an errand you need to run you end up having to pay somebody else to do it even if it's something as simple and stupid as this.
In my younger days I was working two full time jobs. That's 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. If you would have offered me a service to deliver cash to me I would have said "That's fucking stupid".
Oh yeah (Score:2)
THIS will end well...
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The security issues would be a nightmare (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:The security issues would be a nightmare (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not the problem, the problem is that it becomes really easy to find homes likely to have cash stored ... especially with an insider.
He won't take any cash, but some of his friends will make a visit later.
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or just claim that the driver didn't deliver the full amount (who's gonna believe some immigrant driver). There are so many ways to game this I can't believe it's even being suggested.
Dangerous for the Delivery Person (Score:5, Insightful)
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and they know how to trick the system to get free food from time to time so they can do with cash and the gig system does not have my real id or address.
The generations least likely to use cash (Score:2)
This service targets the generations least likely to use cash. Outside of a casino, I use cash once or twice a year. I know most of my friend group is the same way. I can't imagine this will generate a large amount of revenue, but it might work as a marketing strategy to drive business from Robinhood to Gopuff.
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My only guess is drugs.
Also Craigslist, Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, etc.
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My only guess is drugs.
Also Craigslist, Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, etc.
I pay for all those with venmo.
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My only guess is drugs.
Surely Gen-Z drug dealers take cryptocurrency. That's what it's for, after all.
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If you need something quick locally, you'll just use cashapp surely - why would you wait for a delivery of cash?? Most "entrepeneurs" will take it. Crypto is more for the organised online marketplaces/vendor shops
"If they have more than $100,000 in assets... (Score:5, Insightful)
The pitch meeting for this must've been amazing: "You know how you can't trust the Ubereats guy to not swirl your cold fries around his asshole a few times before putting them back in the bag? Well what if he knew you were lazy and loaded?"
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I think the intersection between delivery driver and bag man for international scammers is a big one. Not saying ALL delivery drivers, but these are not the kinds of gigs that foster a vice-free lifestyle.
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a rando gig worker who now knows they have more than $100,000 in assets
Not saying this is a good idea, but I don't think the gig worker would know if you're paying $6.99 or $2.99 for the delivery, which is what would tell them if you have more than $100k in assets.
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Not saying this is a good idea, but I don't think the gig worker would know if you're paying $6.99 or $2.99 for the delivery, which is what would tell them if you have more than $100k in assets.
Either way, the delivery guy is literally holding a bag of your cash.
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Not saying this is a good idea, but I don't think the gig worker would know if you're paying $6.99 or $2.99 for the delivery, which is what would tell them if you have more than $100k in assets.
Either way, the delivery guy is literally holding a bag of your cash.
Obviously. That's not the point I was addressing.
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by a rando gig worker who now knows they have more than $100,000 in assets.
... a significant portion of every city has people living in it with more than $100,000 in assets. Like outside of the slums you can bet anyone with a hint of grey in their beard does.
This isn't the security risk you think it is. God my wife is a teacher and her woefully underpaid arse had over $100k in assets when we met. In fact most people who have paid off only 1/4 of their mortgages have $100k in assets. What's the difference between whether that's in stocks, bonds, or housing?
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, y'know, cash?
And the point is that the people using this service have identified themselves as a lazy mark. That's the difference between any other person without $100000 in "assets"
Robs from the rich and gives to the poor? (Score:2)
I guess this cash delivery service only works if you're poor, if you're rich they're going to steal it.
Hoo boy (Score:4, Insightful)
If Gopoof drivers are as clueful as the other delivery app drivers, this is going to end in the most absolutely dumbest way possible. They're just going to toss ten thousand dollars in cash at someone's front door. And not even be on the right street.
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If Gopoof drivers are as clueful as the other delivery app drivers, this is going to end in the most absolutely dumbest way possible. They're just going to toss ten thousand dollars in cash at someone's front door. And not even be on the right street.
Yes, if. That said, it's entirely possible to do this right. Head office bags the money in front of the driver, who scans a barcode indicating he's agreeing to the amount in the now-sealed bag. Recipient scans the barcode confirming the package is sealed when handed to them. Plus the company only assigns drivers who have established they are capable. It's a stupid service and the company involved is stupid so you're probably right, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Fees indeed (Score:2)
Wow, I thought my bank's ATM fees were ridiculous.
how is robinhood still in business (Score:2)
Facilitating Their Namesake? (Score:3)
Am I the only one that sees the irony that a company called Robinhood is preparing to deliver wads of riches to well-off too lazy people and hoping someone doesn't attempt to rob said rich people and give to themselves?
This is great. (Score:2)
The single best use case is people waiting for their drug dealers, and stoned people shouldnt drive. Everybody else privides alternative payment methods.
Raises hand (Score:2)
Robinhood Markets is betting its Gen Z and millennial clientele are as eager to send out for delivery of a wad of cash ...
Um... Aren't the younger generations more prone to using electronic payments *rather* than cash?
Gen Z and the Future of Payments: Cards, Cash, and the Shift to Digital [swipesum.com]
See how Gen Z is transforming payments with a strong preference for digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payments over cash.
2024 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice [frbservices.org] (article has nice graph of payment types 2016-2023)
The findings also show a growing generational divide among those using cash versus electronic payments. Consumers younger than age 55 used cash for just 12% of payments in 2023, compared to 22% for those age 55 and older. Notably, for the first time in Diary history, cash was not the most-used instrument for smaller-value payments of $25 or less.
Google: younger generations cash vs electronic payment [google.com]
$2.99 is cheap (Score:2)
I pay more than that in bank fees for using out-of-network ATMs.
On the other hand, I can just stop at one of my broker's ATM when I leave my house for work, groceries, appointments, etc. And take cash out of a debit account, or if I bothered to set it up, an LAL account (Liquidity Access Line).
What's Cash? (Score:2)
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You're one natural disaster away from being completely fucked.
Imagine a regional power outage lasting a few days. Now imagine it lasting a few weeks. Phone and internet out. No one will be taking your cards. Cash only and no functioning ATMs for miles. That could never happen, right? Except for Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, ice storms...
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No one will be taking your cards. Cash only and no functioning ATMs for miles.
What makes you think anyone is going to take cash?
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Lots of small stores will still take cash in a natural disaster. Better example is the internet or cell service going down. Here in Canada the other year, Rogers went down for a couple of days. Seemed most card processors used the Rogers network for cards and even ATM's used it to check your balance. I went into a gas station to buy gas, with cash. The number of people milling around looking lost and talking about the same thing happening everywhere was amazing.
There's been other times a store has had a net
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Here in Canada
We got some Canadian cash "for emergencies" on a visit a few years ago. We still have it despite multiple trips since. I agree with you that having some cash in a disaster might be useful. But in a major disaster many of the places you could spend money would not be in a position to take it. You can always write a check ...
Here in the states a lot of people have a change jar that will add up to a few bucks if they need it. Change in Canada can be a bit rich to just stuff in a jar.
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I always keep some cash on me just in case and more at home and that network outage proved it was a good idea.
Precisely. Always keep a chunk of cash on you and available to you. Debit, credit, phone payment, Bitcoin(LOL), all completely useless when the power or communication goes out.
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What makes you think anyone is going to take cash?
When no other payment option exists, I guaran-fucking-tee you that they will take cash.
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You're one natural disaster away from being completely fucked.
Imagine a regional power outage lasting a few days. Now imagine it lasting a few weeks. Phone and internet out. No one will be taking your cards. Cash only and no functioning ATMs for miles. That could never happen, right? Except for Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, ice storms...
For this stupid cash delivery service to be useful in a disaster, they would need to: somehow survive the disaster, have access to a source of cash* that other people in the region don't, have drivers willing to deliver it in a disaster zone, and finally NOT dip into the cash themselves to help their own families.
*Oh and to protect that "source of cash" they would also need premises and a security team.
If you're relying on a "cash delivery app" to bring your cash during a disaster, you're already screwed.
Uhh... (Score:2)
My bank has been delivering cash to my door for a nominal fee for decades. The service is available regardless of account balance.
I use it mostly for foreign currency, before I travel. But, I can order USD just as easily and have it delivered in 1-2 days.
what happens when you open the bag (Score:2)
I may use this (Score:2)
And I'm Gen X, not millennial or Gen Z. The nearest ATM to my mansion in the hills is a 10 minute drive away, one way. I face challenges with driving after dark. If I need to pay a cleaner, painter, etc. in cash, and it is dark, which unfortunately is very early in the winter after the time change - before 5pm, it is easily a $20 Uber ride to the ATM and back. $2.99 compares very favorably to that.
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And I'm Gen X, not millennial or Gen Z. The nearest ATM to my mansion in the hills is a 10 minute drive away, one way. I face challenges with driving after dark. If I need to pay a cleaner, painter, etc. in cash, and it is dark, which unfortunately is very early in the winter after the time change - before 5pm, it is easily a $20 Uber ride to the ATM and back. $2.99 compares very favorably to that.
Not sure if joking... if you can afford a "mansion in the hills" surely you can afford a decent safe and then put a few hundred bucks in there to pay contractors. You don't need to stash a fortune and make yourself a target for thieves, just enough to pay contractors until next time your schedule takes you near that ATM.
Re: I may use this (Score:2)
I'm not in any way joking.
The mansion was bought foreclosed and long paid for. But I'm not working anymore due to disability, and still under 50. Every cent counts. Given the choice between a $20 and $2.99 expense, it's not a close call.
Geez, what could go wrong ??? (Score:2)