just now
Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ) has provided access to more than $200 billion to customers in global lending across its portfolio of credit products, including Cash App Borrow, Afterpay, and Square Loans. The company has maintained stable loss rates across all lending products since 2013 despite exponential growth and changing macroenvironments.
The milestone comes as traditional credit systems exclude nearly 100 million Americans from affordable credit through backward-looking scoring models built on delayed data. Gen Z, expected to comprise 30% of the workforce by 2030, increasingly rejects traditional credit products, with 48% without credit cards and 68% reporting anxiety from credit card bills.
Block's credit infrastructure uses near real-time behavioural data instead of delayed credit bureau reports. Cash App analyses earning, saving, spending, and repayment patterns across its 58 million monthly actives to generate an internal Cash App Score for each customer. This approach has enabled 38% more Cash App Borrow loan approvals at the same loss rates compared to traditional credit underwriting.
The company's integrated ecosystem creates advantages when customers use Cash App for their paycheck, spending, savings, and investments. Block develops a comprehensive financial picture that enables better underwriting and customer experience than fragmented legacy systems.
Brian Boates, Risk Lead, Block
Brian Boates, Risk Lead, Block said:
“Traditional lenders use scale to be more selective; we use it to be more inclusive while managing risk responsibly. Our near real-time underwriting models don't just expand access—they create better outcomes for both customers and our business. This isn't theoretical; we've proven it by scaling to $200 billion in lending while maintaining consistent loss rates.”
Block's $200 billion milestone spans three distinct products. Cash App Borrow offers short-term loans averaging 21 days, with 97% repayment rates despite 70% of borrowers having FICO scores below 580.
Afterpay provides buy now, pay later services with 96% of instalments paid on time and 98% of purchases incurring no late fees. Square Loans delivers small business lending with less than 3% loss rates, with 58% going to women-owned businesses and 34% to minority-owned businesses.
Square Financial Services, Inc. (SFS) is Block's in-house bank. SFS has originated more than $20 billion in loans across Square Loans and Cash App Borrow since the bank's inception, supporting both sellers and consumers. In 2025, SFS began originating all Cash App Borrow loans to further expand the Borrow product to customers across the country.
Block recently completed a pilot providing select customers visibility into their Cash App Score, a near real-time measure of financial health used for Cash App Borrow eligibility. Customers were able to see what drives their score and take actions to improve it. Internal testing shows Cash App's underwriting models deliver stronger predictive accuracy than traditional credit scoring across revolving credit and longer-term loans. Based on a recent analysis, Cash App's models can approve 30% more auto loans at identical loss rates compared to conventional methods.
These results give Block confidence in expanding access within its lending suite and exploring opportunities for the Cash App Score to help customers qualify for external products through strategic partnerships. With American household debt reaching $18.59 trillion and credit card balances at historic highs, Block's transparent, fixed-term credit products provide an alternative to the revolving debt cycle.
Found this interesting? Become a member of LiquidityFinder and get daily industry news direct to your inbox — join here.
