Often not. The CFPB has warned that funds left sitting in many nonbank payment apps may not be FDIC insured the way money in a bank account is, so if the company failed, that balance could be at risk. The safe habit is 'don't store, move', transfer money out to a real bank rather than parking a balance in an app.

What FDIC insurance actually covers

FDIC deposit insurance protects your money, up to the legal limit, if an insured bank fails. The key words are "insured bank." That protection attaches to deposits at a bank, not automatically to a balance shown inside an app. A number in a payment app is not the same thing as a deposit in an FDIC-insured bank account, even though both look like "money I have."

The CFPB's warning, in plain English

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has cautioned consumers that funds stored in many nonbank payment apps may not be FDIC insured, and that leaving money sitting in those apps carries a risk you don't have with a bank account. Some apps pass balances through to partner banks under certain conditions, and some don't; the arrangements vary and aren't always obvious to the user. The CFPB's practical advice amounts to: don't treat a payment-app balance like a savings account.

"Don't store, move"

• Fine: using an app to send or receive money, then moving it to your bank.
• Risky: letting a balance pile up and sit in the app as if it were a bank account.
• Check: whether your specific app sweeps balances to an FDIC-insured partner bank, and under what conditions, it's often in the fine print, not the home screen.

How TableCash fits

This is exactly why TableCash is built so it never holds the money. There is no TableCash balance sitting in TableCash. When friends chip in, the money goes through Stripe directly to the organizer's own connected account, and the organizer can move it to their bank. The app is the interface and the record, not a place your money is parked. So the "is my balance in the app insured?" question doesn't apply the way it does to an app that stores your funds, because the money isn't stored with the app at all. Here's the full picture of what TableCash is, and how payment apps are regulated.

Last reviewed: August 30, 2026. This is general information, not legal or financial advice; check your own app's terms for its specific FDIC arrangement. Sources: the CFPB's analysis of the risks of storing funds in nonbank payment apps and the FDIC's deposit insurance resources.