Cash App surely is among the most famous platforms to send and receive money right here in the United States, but right now, this very popular app is entangled in some legal mess. Why? Well, it has something to do with their “Invite Friends” program. And just in case you’re wondering what’s really wrong with that, well, Cash App was caught in the act of sending those referral codes through people’s phone numbers without them even knowing. And that’s the illegal part. So, let’s try to understand this case better and a little bit about that Cash App Spam Text Lawsuit Settlement. Here we go.
What Is a Cash App and Why Are They in Trouble?
To begin with, Cash App is in no way a recently debuted or unfamiliar application. In fact, it was created in 2013 under the name Square Cash, which was later rebranded. By the year 2024, the app was going to be used by more than 57 million people every month. This is a very HUGE figure.
Not only that, but they also generated more than $16.2 billion in revenue during just one year, 2024. So, they definitely have the cash. It’s likely the reason that $12.5 million being released was merely a minor inconvenience to them.
However, this misfortune is not the only time that the company has found itself facing some trouble. In the year 2024, they were obligated to issue a payment of $15 million as a result of a legal battle with a former worker who unlawfully accessed user data. Adding to their legal issues, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also slapped them with a $175 million penalty for inadequate fraud and security measures. Therefore, the answer to the question is affirmative; they have had a difficult period of time at Cash App and its parent company.
How And When Did This All Happen?
Here’s how things unfolded:
- November 2023: The lawsuit was filed by Kimberly Bottoms. She claimed that Cash App violated the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) and the Washington Consumer Protection Act, besides breaking two state laws.
- June 2025: Block Inc. decided to resolve the legal case by a settlement of $12.5 million. As usual, they didn’t confess to any misconduct. No regret was expressed; only a resolution was reached.
Right now, the court still needs to give final approval for the deal to go through.
Which Laws Were Violated?
So, in fact, what was the mistake of the Cash App? To be precise, in this situation, the state of Washington is very strict about privacy in the electronic communication domain.
The foremost legislative act that is being referred to is the Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA). Even though the title suggests, the act extends its coverage to cell phone short messages apart from emails. The legislation specifies that a business is not allowed to send promotional text messages to any person without that individual’s explicit consent.
The Consumer Protection Act is the second one, which aims at preventing untrue or misleading business practices. Just for example, sending promotional messages without your consent is a kind of activity that comes under this classification.
At the very core of the case is the issue. It was alleged that Cash App had been using your phone number to send referral messages so that you could get more people to sign up, without your knowledge or consent. This was the point at which things went beyond.
Who’s Eligible to Get the Settlement Money?
So what about the big question, would you be able to get a share of that $12.5 million?
You might be eligible if you meet these two conditions:
- You live in Washington state, and
- You received one of those Cash App referral texts anytime on or after November 14, 2019.
So far there is no exact end date indicated; nevertheless, the size of the group is anticipated to be about 2 million individuals.