
Cash App, under its parent company Block, has found itself on the hook for up to $175 million after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a heavy rebuke over the company's approach to handling fraudulent transactions. As per the CFPB's findings, Block has been ordered to pay up to $120 million directly to consumers affected by its lax security protocols and an additional $55 million fine into the CFPB's victims relief fund, as CBS News reported.
"lock also deployed a range of tactics to suppress Cash App users from seeking help, reducing its own costs," according to a statement from the CFPB obtained by FOX 32 Chicago. This enforcement comes after widespread criticism of Cash App's customer service, which for years, led to delays and confusion while attempting to address unauthorized transactions and providing refunds that were slow to materialize—if at all. Additionally, Block is now mandated to establish 24-hour, live-person customer service in a move to prevent a repeat of such failures.
In the face of these developments, Cash App has stood its ground in a manner speaking. "While we strongly disagree with the CFPB’s mischaracterizations, we made the decision to settle this matter in the interest of putting it behind us and focusing on what’s best for our customers and our business," the company stated. Despite this stance, the enforcement by the CFPB indicates a significant mishandling of user's digital transactions, an error for an app with over 56 million accounts, as noted by CBS News.