Stock Market Simplified: Is Stash Legit or a Gamble?

Are you worried about your financial situation and considering investment options?

You’re not alone. 77 percent of Americans feel anxious about their financial standing, with 58 percent reporting that finances control their lives.

Struggling with money is becoming a staple of life, after all, the average American is swimming in $90,460 debt and 57 percent of U.S. adults can’t afford $1,000 in emergency funds.

Luckily, fintech companies are offering financial services and apps to help people improve their money situation. Solutions range from facilitating investment opportunities to growing retirement accounts.

Stash is one of the most popular aiming to make investment easy for Americans so they can build long-term wealth. But is Stash legit?

Today’s guide takes a comprehensive look at the company, what it offers, its safety, and customers’ experiences with using it.

What Is Stash?

Stash is a financial technology and monetary services company with an app available on the App Store and Google Play.

Based in New York, Co-founders Ed Robinson and Brandon Krieg launched Stash in 2015.

Stash is a platform that facilitates investing, banking, and saving for everyday Americans. It’s designed to accommodate building wealth through long-term investment rather than day trading.

To date, Stash has more than 6 million users and has raised over $450 million in venture capital funding.

How Does Stash Work?

Upon joining Stash, you answer some questions to help the app better understand your financial goals and tailor its recommendations to your needs.

From there, you can choose either the Stash Growth plan or the Stash+ plan to start your journey.

After you add money to the account, you can invest in thousands of stocks, cryptocurrency, and ETFs (exchange-traded funds).

You can invest on your own or use the Stash Smart Portfolio feature that invests on your behalf.

You can also receive Stash financial counseling, open a traditional IRA (individual retirement account), and get life insurance coverage (Avibra).

Stash even offers an associated debit card; Stock Back, that lets you earn stock rewards when you use it to purchase. You can also get pieces of stock through the platform’s weekly Stash stock party.

Common Questions to Understand

You’ll find out more details about the legitimacy of the Stash app and whether you should trust its services in the following sections.

But first, here are some common questions that many people ask before investing.

Can You Actually Make Money on Stash?

Yes, you can legitimately make money on Stash via its rewards system. Whenever you spend money using the Stock Back card, you earn back some money.

If you’re on the Stash Growth plan, the Stash Stock Back card earns you 0.125 percent back in stock on all purchases. Purchasing from certain merchants with bonuses can earn you up to 2 percent in stock back.

If you’re on the Stash+ plan, you can earn up to 1 percent in stock when you spend $1,000 per month. If you spend more than $1,000, your earnings will become 0.125 percent per swipe.

This is an update to a previous policy that stopped receiving free stock after spending $1,000 unless you exceed $4,000 a month in purchases.

For purchases at bonus merchants, Stash+ users earn up to 3 percent in stock with the Stock Back card.

How Does Stash Pay You?

You can cash out of Stash whenever you want. You can also cash as much of your Stash as you want at a time. There are no charges, penalties, or fees included.

When you decide to cash out your Stash, the platform pays your funds back to your connected bank account/card. You’re then free to spend your earnings as you wish.

The transaction to your back starts immediately after you decide to cash out. But it can take up to 7 working days for the money to show up in your bank account. That’s because different banks have varying processing systems.

Is Stash Only For US Citizens?

Stash is only open to citizens of the United States and legal U.S. residents with a green card or a valid visa. Stash accepts visa types TN1, O1, L1, H1B, F1, E3, E2, or E1.

To use Stash, you must provide a valid Social Security number.

Is Stash Legit?

Yes, Stash is a legit company, no doubt about it. Whether you’re on the Stash Growth plan or Stash+ subscription, using the app or browsing the platform’s website, Stash is a legitimate business.

Here are a few of the main reasons you can trust this company with your money:

1. Regulated operation

Stash is a registered investment adviser with the United States SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).

This means that the company is required by federal law to provide you with the best financial/investment advice in your interest while protecting your information.

2. Substation funding from investors

Investors don’t just give money away. With more than 10 investors backing up Stash -including T.Rowe Price and Entrée-, the company’s current and future presence is more than established. Stash has raised $480 million in total funding as of October 2022.

3. Expansion and scaling

Stash is on a solid track of growth with a focus on sustainability while exploring initial public offering (IPO), private financing, and acquisition options.

In February 2023, Stash welcomed renowned scaling expert Liza Landsman as the CEO to lead it into its next phase.

4. World-renowned reviews

Stash received reviews and praise from various globally-recognized organizations such as CBS News, Business Insider, Bloomberg, Workweek, and TechCrunch.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Stash protects people from the negative habits associated with day trading.

5. Award recipients

In recognition of their operation and performance, Stash won multiple prestigious awards such as Forbes Fintech 50 and Forbes America’s Best Startup Employers.

Stash is also FinTech Breakthrough’s Best Personal Finance App, Comparably’s Best Company Outlook, and one of USA Today’s and Statista’s Top 500 Best Financial Advisory Firms.

Is Stash Reliable?

Yes, Stash is a reliable investment and banking platform that services millions of users every day. Its operation has been running since 2015, with over 500 employees working to ensure a smooth, safe, and profitable user experience.

Here are a few reasons why you can rely on Stash:

• Simple interface: Whether you’re using the app on an Apple or Android device, you’ll find it quite easy to figure out. The navigation is intuitive for the most part and the app receives regular updates to fix bugs and improve its overall performance.
• Multiple plans and easy out: Stash offers a couple of subscription plans to help you pick the more suitable investment option for your budget. Whenever you feel like quitting the service, cancellation is readily possible without fees.
• All-in-one platform: Stash covers all your long-term investment, saving, and banking needs through a single account on the platform. The company also provides all its users with Stock Back cards to facilitate both online and real-life payments/purchases.
• System status: Stash has a status monitoring system powered by Atlassian to deliver real-time status checks to its users.

Is Stash Safe?

Yes, Stash appears to be a safe platform with multiple policies and tools designed to protect your money and information. A few reasons to feel confident in Stash’s security include:

• The investments are held by Apex Clearing Corporation, protected up to $500,000.
• Uninvested funds are part of the APEX FDIC-insured Sweep Program, insured up to $250,000 per participating bank.
• The FDIC insures Stash bank accounts through Stride Bank.
• Stash has a Zero Liability Policy.
• Stash provides continuous fraud monitoring, lock/unlock debit card features, and EMV chip security.
• Stash uses 256-bit encryption to protect user information and biometric recognition for access.

What Are Users Saying About Stash?

Now that you’re more familiar with the Stash platform and its operation, it’s time to see what users think.

Here’s a quick look at the positive side of their experience on the most popular review sites:

What ConsumerAffairs Reviewers Liked About Stash

At the time of writing, Stash had 86 reviews on ConsumerAffairs with an average rating of 3.5 stars.

5-star reviews make up around 22 percent of all user reviews while 4-star reviews make up the majority (45 percent). The highlights of the reviews include:

• Variety of Shares: Since Stash offers thousands of stock options, users were able to invest at different budgets. Stash beginners found this perk particularly helpful because it allowed affordable testing.
• Helpful Investment Tips: Another feature that rookies appreciated was the helpful investment advice that the app offers.

What TrustPilot Reviewers Liked About Stash

At the time of writing, Stash’s rating stands at a disappointing 1.5 stars. However, 5-star and 4-star ratings are both at 33 percent and 14 percent respectively.

Here’s what high-rating reviewers thought of the platform:

• Customer Support Flexibility: Users often praised Stash for having multiple customer support channels, including phone, chat, and email.
• User-Friendly Interface: Another theme that often appeared in positive reviews is how using the app can be, even for a Stash beginner.

Why Are People Worried About Using Stash?

Despite the positive feedback from many users, the general impression of the platform tips to the negative side.

In this section, we’ll have a brief look at some of the common downsides to the Stash experience.

What ConsumerAffairs Reviewers Are Worried About

Both ConsumerAffairs’ 1 and 2-star ratings make up around 8 percent of all reviews each.

Here are some of the aspects that reviews didn’t like about Stash:

• Poor App Performance: Many users commented about the app’s inconsistent performance. This includes multiple bugs and needing to restart the app frequently to get it to work properly.
• Slow Registration Process: Reviewers also complained about lengthy wait periods for IRA registration, preventing them from using the app promptly.

What TrustPilot Reviewers Are Worried About

Although ConsumerAffairs reviews were fairly positive, reviewers on Trustpilot weren’t as satisfied with their experience. In fact, one-star reviews make up the majority of ratings with over 44 percent of reviews.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the main problems users encountered:

• Unwarranted Account Locking: A common feedback that many 1-star reviewers have in common is Stash locking their accounts. Some users also reported that they didn’t receive any previous warnings or justification for the locking.
• Underwhelming Hack-Protection Support: Despite Stash’s excellent cybersecurity features, some users still feel victim to exploits. Unfortunately, many users complained about how passive customer support can be while trying to resolve these issues.

Stash Quality & Guarantees

Stash’s operations are under the regulation of the US SEC, so the company must abide by federal laws to act in the user’s best interest and provide tight security of their information and finances.

Stash covers each user’s investments with insurance of up to $500,000. It also offers up to $250,000 insurance coverage of $250,000.

Stash requires your Social Security number to verify your identity as per the Patriot Act, but it doesn’t run a credit check. The company also provides you with a tax report form each year.

Stash is Payment Card Industry Data Security compliant, which ensures protection against malicious attacks.

Does Stash Offer Customer Service?

Yes, Stash offers its users customer service. They’re available 24/7 and are generally quick to respond while being adequately helpful.

The company has a contact page, a support email, and a customer service number. It also uses a support chatbot to quickly address common issues to save you time.

What Customer Service Options Are Available?

You can contact Stash’s customer support by phone at (800) 205-5164. They’re available Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM (Eastern Time). Phone support on Saturdays and Sundays is from 10 AM to 6:30 PM (ET).

You can access Stash’s support bot here for quick answers to common inquiries. For further support, you can email the company’s customer service team at [email protected].

If your question concerns any of the app’s features, contact Stash’s support team at [email protected].

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re creating a smart portfolio with the Stash investing app, certain questions are bound to come to mind. Here are a couple of the most common inquiries and their answers:

Similar Gigs to Research

Now that you know more about Stash, you can take a look at other services/apps that offer various ways for making money online:

• Is Flash Rewards Legit?: This is a get-paid-to website that promises money and gift cards when you perform online tasks such as playing games and buying certain products. This guide tells you if it’s worth your time.
• Is InboxDollars Legit?: This is a rewards club that offers payments/discounts for completing online tasks such as taking surveys, watching videos, and downloading apps. Check out this guide to find out whether or not it’s a scam.
• Is Cashandgo Legit?: This app promises payments when you invite friends to use it, test other free apps, try free games, and. It offers easy, quick ways to make money online that seem too good to be true. Find out if it’s trustworthy in this guide.

Wrapping Up

With this, today’s comprehensive Stash review comes to an end. This fintech company is a legitimate platform for investing, banking, and saving services.

Stash’s outlook is quite promising, with an app filled with features to help customers realize their financial goals.

The company takes plenty of measures to ensure security against fraud attacks, although their approach to resolving hack issues could be better.  

As always, feel free to leave a comment below telling us your thoughts and share the post if you found it helpful.