Cash App is no longer just a way to send money to friends. Through a feature called Neighborhoods, the app now doubles as a local shopping map where you can discover nearby coffee shops, restaurants, and stores—and earn a rewards currency called Local Cash when you buy from them. The headline offer is simple: earn 10% back in Local Cash, up to $10 per order, at participating businesses.
Here’s exactly what Local Cash is, how to earn it, how to spend it, and the fine print worth knowing before you count on those rewards.
What Is Neighborhoods and Local Cash?
Neighborhoods is Block’s local-commerce network that connects two sides of the same counter: Square sellers (the point-of-sale system millions of small businesses use) and Cash App customers. Inside Cash App, participating businesses appear on a map so you can find, follow, and order from them.
Local Cash is the reward you earn in that network. Think of it as store credit that lives in your Cash App account—except it isn’t locked to one shop. You can earn it at one participating business and spend it at another. (If you used Square’s older Loyalty Points at a favorite shop, those programs have been transitioning to Local Cash.)
How You Earn 10% Back
The core mechanic rewards you for following and buying. On a qualifying order at a Neighborhoods business, you earn 10% of your order subtotal back in Local Cash, capped at $10 per order. The key requirement: you generally need to follow that business in Cash App to earn.
- Open Cash App and find the Neighborhoods map (look for the local/Neighborhoods section in the app).
- Browse nearby participating businesses and tap Follow on the ones you like.
- Pay with Cash App—either in person (scan the business’s QR code at checkout) or through a restaurant’s in-app ordering channel for pickup or delivery.
- Your 10% back posts to your Local Cash balance.
There’s also a new-customer perk: Cash App has offered a first-time $5 Local Cash welcome bonus for customers who follow their first Neighborhoods seller and make a qualifying purchase. It’s limited to one per customer and offered for a limited time, so treat it as a nice extra rather than a guarantee.
Quick Reference: Local Cash at a Glance
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Reward rate | 10% back in Local Cash on qualifying orders |
| Per-order cap | Up to $10 in Local Cash per order |
| Requirement to earn | Follow the business in Cash App; pay with Cash App |
| Where you can spend it | Any participating Neighborhoods business (not just where you earned it) |
| Welcome bonus | Up to $5 Local Cash for first-time customers (limited time, one per customer) |
| Who funds the rewards | Cash App funds Local Cash for sellers’ first 12 months in the program |
| Business types | Coffee shops, restaurants, retail stores, and more |
| Expiration | Local Cash may expire or be modified—check your balance and terms |
How to Redeem Local Cash
Redeeming is designed to be quick. When you’re paying a participating business in person, tap Redeem in Cash App and scan the QR code on the business’s buyer-facing display. Your available Local Cash applies to the purchase automatically. For restaurants with an in-app ordering channel, your balance can be applied when you place a pickup or delivery order on the seller’s profile.
Because Local Cash is network-wide, you aren’t stuck spending it at the shop where you earned it. Earn $4 at a bakery on Monday and you could put it toward a burrito at a different participating restaurant on Friday.
Worked Example 1: A Coffee Run
You follow a local café and buy $18 of coffee and pastries. You earn 10% back = $1.80 in Local Cash. Do that a few times a week and the balance adds up quickly for a future order.
Worked Example 2: Hitting the Cap
You order $140 of catering from a participating restaurant. Ten percent would be $14, but the per-order cap limits your reward to $10 in Local Cash. Anything above a $100 subtotal earns the same $10 maximum per order—so splitting very large orders isn’t rewarded beyond the cap on a single order.
Worked Example 3: Earn Here, Spend There
You earn $10 total across a café and a bookstore, then walk into a participating taco shop you’ve never visited. At checkout you tap Redeem, scan the QR code, and your $10 covers most of a $12 lunch. You pay just the $2 difference with your Cash App balance.
Why Cash App Is Pushing This
For small businesses, Neighborhoods is a low-cost way to attract and keep customers: Cash App funds the Local Cash rewards during a seller’s first 12 months in the program, and restaurants pay a modest 1% processing fee per Neighborhoods transaction. Block has reported rapid growth—adding roughly 30,000 more sellers in a recent stretch, a nearly 10x jump from a few months earlier. For you, that means more places to earn and spend as the network expands.
Things to Watch Out For
- It only works at participating businesses. Local Cash can only be used at Neighborhoods sellers, so your balance is only as useful as the network near you.
- Rewards can expire. Cash App’s terms note that Local Cash may be subject to expiration dates and can be limited, modified, or canceled at the company’s discretion. Spend it rather than hoarding it.
- You usually have to follow the business first. Forgetting to tap Follow can mean missing the 10% on that order.
- The $5 welcome bonus is time-limited. It’s a one-per-customer promo that may not be available when you sign up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Local Cash the same as my regular Cash App balance?
No. Your Cash App balance is real money you can send, spend, or cash out anywhere Cash App works. Local Cash is a rewards credit that can only be used at participating Neighborhoods businesses and may expire. They’re separate, even though both live in the same app.
Do I have to pay with Cash App to earn 10% back?
Yes. Earning Local Cash is tied to paying through Cash App at a participating business—either by scanning the business’s QR code in person or ordering through a restaurant’s in-app channel—after following that business in the app.
Can I earn Local Cash at any store?
Only at businesses enrolled in Neighborhoods. These include coffee shops, restaurants, and retail stores that use Square and have joined the program. If a business isn’t on the Neighborhoods map in Cash App, it won’t earn or accept Local Cash.
What happens to my Local Cash if a business leaves the program?
Local Cash is network-wide, so you can still redeem your balance at other participating sellers even if one shop drops out. Just keep an eye on expiration dates and spend your rewards while the network near you is active.
The Bottom Line
Cash App’s Neighborhoods turns everyday local spending into a straightforward rewards loop: follow a business, pay with Cash App, and bank 10% back (up to $10 per order) in Local Cash you can spend across the network. The first-time $5 bonus and Cash App–funded rewards make it genuinely worth trying if participating shops are near you—just remember to follow businesses before you buy and to use your Local Cash before it expires.
WalletWisp is an independent, informational resource and is not financial advice. Program terms, rates, and availability can change—always confirm current details in Cash App before relying on them.
