US regulator warns against storing cash in Venmo and PayPal.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has warned that payment apps like PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, and Apple Pay lack the same protections as banks or credit unions, and customers could lose their funds if the companies go under. The CFPB noted that payment apps encourage customers to store funds rather than just make transactions, and there are billions of dollars at risk. While some money held in certain types of payment app accounts are deposited in FDIC-member banks and thus protected, much of the funds are held by the services themselves, without federal insurance.