Robinhood to Launch Cash Delivery and AI-Powered Trading Assistant Service
Robinhood Markets has revealed plans to offer physical cash delivery and an AI-powered trading assistant to select customers. In a blog post published on March 27, the firm said its online banking division, Robinhood Banking, will soon provide savings accounts to Gold-tier subscribers via Coastal Community Bank.
Ordering an Uber for Money
One of the standout features of the service is an on-demand cash delivery option, allowing users to receive cash at home similarly to ordering from Uber or Postmates. “You could be sitting at home and decide to get a cash delivery the same way you’d want to order an Uber or a Postmates,” said Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev during a livestream announcement. He added that while many services have evolved with technology, banking has remained tied to traditional methods like ATMs and physical branches. Historically, cash delivery was a luxury offered to high-net-worth clients through armored vehicles. Robinhood’s offering aims to modernize this concept, though specifics about who delivers the cash and the logistics remain unclear.
The company’s terms indicate that delivery coverage will depend on geographic factors and travel routes. Robinhood also announced it will launch a new feature called Robinhood Strategies, providing users with curated investment options that include single stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This will be accompanied later this year by an AI research assistant named Cortex, available exclusively to $5-per-month Gold subscribers.
Cortex is designed to offer real-time analysis, insights, and personalized trading suggestions. Tenev said the assistant was built after extensive feedback from users over a two-year development period. Abhishek Fatehpuria, Robinhood’s VP of product management, confirmed that the firm is exploring ways to integrate cryptocurrencies more deeply into its platform. This follows the company’s recent launch of a prediction betting market on March 17, which helped drive an 8% surge in its stock. Despite recent innovations, Robinhood’s stock (HOOD) closed down 7.1% on March 26 at $44.73, with an additional 2.84% dip after hours, according to Google Finance. Earlier this month, Robinhood expanded its crypto offerings by listing meme coins like Pengu (PENGU), Pnut (PNUT), and Popcat (POPCAT), and in January, the platform introduced futures contracts tied to assets like Bitcoin.
Massachusetts Regulator Probes Robinhood Over Prediction Markets Offering
Just recently, Massachusetts securities regulators launched an investigation into Robinhood’s prediction markets, which allow users to place bets on various real-world events—including college basketball tournaments. Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin confirmed that his office issued a subpoena to Robinhood last week. The subpoena requests details on the platform’s marketing strategies and the number of Massachusetts-based users participating in event contract trading related to college basketball. The new regulatory trouble comes shortly after Robinhood Crypto revealed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially closed its investigation into the platform without taking any enforcement action. The probe, which began last spring over concerns about potential unregistered securities sales, ended on February 21.