Vanguard Cash Plus Account

[stan1]

Vanguard's Cash Plus account is now out of pilot phase and generally available so let's discuss the features, use cases, and suggestions for improvement here.

https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts- ... us-account

The Vanguard Cash Plus Account is a cash management account that features a bank sweep insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) and offers a competitive yield on your short-term savings. You can use the bank sweep as a low-risk place to keep cash for your immediate needs as well as for emergencies. You also have the option to purchase any of the 5 Vanguard money market funds available in your Cash Plus Account.

The previous thread for the now-completed pilot phase that was available to some customers is here:
viewtopic.php?t=385191

List of institutions where forum members report Cash Plus routing/account number pair is invalid:
Treasury Direct
Bank of America - some customers with both a credit card and a checking account cannot pay by ACH from another bank
Comcast/Xfinity
Target Red Card
PSE&G - electric and gas utility serving New Jersey/vicinity.

Fixed:
As of May 2024 Internal Revenue Service estimated tax payments reported to work with Direct Pay and ETFPS. Recommended to select CP as "savings".

Feel free to post or PM me any updates you'd recommend based off your CP experience.

Update 4/5/2024:
On this thread retiringwhen has identified that PNC is "recycling" a routing number previously used by Oak Hills S&L that got gobbled up by PNC, one possibility is that some of these payees are not using an updated table of valid routing numbers.
viewtopic.php?p=7806547#p7806547

[czaj]

Wake me up when money market fund auto-liquidation is available on withdrawals.

Until then, I’ll stick with Fidelity.

And I may stick with Fidelity anyway because FZDXX is close enough in yield, not to mention checkwriting, debit card, free wires, fast deposits, automatic purchase of SPAXX, customer service. Though I would prefer the government aspect of Vanguard’s money market funds.

[stan1]

I logged in, used the new account tool, and my Cash Plus account was created with no problems. I'll fund it next week.

I am hoping to use it to deposit income into, and then link it to credit card accounts to pay bills from it. We also have a checking account at a credit union which we will use for the few things that still need checks, like home repair and maintenance.

We prefer Treasury Money Market for income that is state tax exempt and higher yielding than the FDIC account interest so will likely put some money into the Cash Plus money market fund option as well.

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it is recognized by our income sources and billers.

If anyone has it working with Quicken please post -- seems like the answer to that is Vanguard doesn't support Quicken downloaded transactions at this time but hoping someone else has figured out how to make it work or Vanguard has plans to add Quicken support.

[stan1]

Wake me up when money market fund auto-liquidation is available on withdrawals.

Until then, I’ll stick with Fidelity.

And I may stick with Fidelity anyway because FZDXX is close enough in yield, not to mention checkwriting, debit card, free wires, fast deposits, automatic purchase of SPAXX, customer service. Though I would prefer the government aspect of Vanguard’s money market funds.

I'd agree, if someone wants a full featured CMA plus credit card for one stop shop Fidelity and Schwab are better choices. We are fine using our credit union for these things and will never seek a one stop shop. Also agree the way Vanguard has this set up a maximizer will need to go in and move money between the FDIC sub-account and a money market fund.

[mhc]

The FDIC interest rate of 4.7% is pretty good. Ally is 4.35%. Fidelity CMA is 2.72%. The 4.7% makes Vanguard look like a nice option if one wants an FDIC account.

[White Coat Investor]

The FDIC interest rate of 4.7% is pretty good. Ally is 4.35%. Fidelity CMA is 2.72%. The 4.7% makes Vanguard look like a nice option if one wants an FDIC account.

Looks great unless you compare it to Federal MMF. I don't think I'm willing to give up 0.6% just for FDIC protection. I'd want something more that I'd use and I haven't figured out what that is yet as I look at the available features. If I could use this thing as my checking account maybe that would do it. But no checks. No ATM cards. Still a no go for me. I can still do what I want to do with a checking account and a MMF.

[apex84]

I'll be giving this a try. We used to use the Vanguard Advantage account for most things. When that went away, I started using our checking account for bill pay. I will use the Cash Plus for most/all bill pay and reduce the slight income drag of transferring money to the checking account and maintaining a buffer there. We rarely use checks or ATM cards, but will keep our checking account for those.

[earflop]

Considering using this as a one-stop shop for DW for the sake of simplicity. All her retirement accounts are at Vanguard and the rest of her transactions are through Zelle/Venmo/Paypal. Don't have any need for checks or a debit card.

[b4nash]

If I could have all incoming money land in VUSXX, occasionally write checks, occasionally withdraw cash, and instantly transfer between my other Vanguard accounts, I’d be in.

Would only add complexity for me as it currently stands.

[Charles Joseph]

Wake me up when money market fund auto-liquidation is available on withdrawals.

Until then, I’ll stick with Fidelity.

And I may stick with Fidelity anyway because FZDXX is close enough in yield, not to mention checkwriting, debit card, free wires, fast deposits, automatic purchase of SPAXX, customer service. Though I would prefer the government aspect of Vanguard’s money market funds.

Agreed to all of the above. I moved everything to Fidelity and have absolutely no regrets. I was already using the CMA for cash management for more than five years. Excellent product and service.

As an aside, one of the things I like most at Fidelity is the Money Transfer Lockdown. A nice safety feature.

[RickBoglehead]

I logged in, used the new account tool, and my Cash Plus account was created with no problems. I'll fund it next week.

I am hoping to use it to deposit income into, and then link it to credit card accounts to pay bills from it. We also have a checking account at a credit union which we will use for the few things that still need checks, like home repair and maintenance.

We prefer Treasury Money Market for income that is state tax exempt and higher yielding than the FDIC account interest so will likely put some money into the Cash Plus money market fund option as well.

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it is recognized by our income sources and billers.

If anyone has it working with Quicken please post -- seems like the answer to that is Vanguard doesn't support Quicken downloaded transactions at this time but hoping someone else has figured out how to make it work or Vanguard has plans to add Quicken support.

I set it up with Quicken just fine, but have no transactions yet.

[RickBoglehead]

The FDIC interest rate of 4.7% is pretty good. Ally is 4.35%. Fidelity CMA is 2.72%. The 4.7% makes Vanguard look like a nice option if one wants an FDIC account.

Looks great unless you compare it to Federal MMF. I don't think I'm willing to give up 0.6% just for FDIC protection. I'd want something more that I'd use and I haven't figured out what that is yet as I look at the available features. If I could use this thing as my checking account maybe that would do it. But no checks. No ATM cards. Still a no go for me. I can still do what I want to do with a checking account and a MMF.

I'm hoping to replace Ally as my bill paying account. I write a handful of checks, and hit an ATM to withdraw maybe once a year. I pay all my bills from Ally's checking. With the increase in withdrawals from 6 to 10, I could have probably done payments from Ally Savings, but it pays less than this account. So, my tentative plan is to move my bill paying to this account, moving funds from VUSXX as needed.

[stan1]

I set it up with Quicken just fine, but have no transactions yet.

Great, I see that the new account is available to add on Quicken's add account user interface and I just put in a deposit from investment account settlement fund that will be available the next business day. I've started moving some cash around to try it out over the next week.

[ClevrChico]

The FDIC interest rate of 4.7% is pretty good. Ally is 4.35%. Fidelity CMA is 2.72%. The 4.7% makes Vanguard look like a nice option if one wants an FDIC account.

Looks great unless you compare it to Federal MMF. I don't think I'm willing to give up 0.6% just for FDIC protection. I'd want something more that I'd use and I haven't figured out what that is yet as I look at the available features. If I could use this thing as my checking account maybe that would do it. But no checks. No ATM cards. Still a no go for me. I can still do what I want to do with a checking account and a MMF.

I'm hoping to replace Ally as my bill paying account. I write a handful of checks, and hit an ATM to withdraw maybe once a year. I pay all my bills from Ally's checking. With the increase in withdrawals from 6 to 10, I could have probably done payments from Ally Savings, but it pays less than this account. So, my tentative plan is to move my bill paying to this account, moving funds from VUSXX as needed.

I have a similar plan. I'll use Vanguard's Cash Plus as my main account for bills and paychecks. My emergency fund will be in a Vanguard money market with check-writing enabled. I'll use an Ally money market account for the rare times I need to write a small check, atm, Zelle, eftps, etc.

[TomP10]

From the prior thread I am under the impression the Cash Plus account will not allow me to set-up a monthly automatic transfer. This is an important feature for me --- without it I would rather remain with my existing high yield savings account. If automatic monthly transfers are possible, then I will close the high yield savings account and move this cash reserve to Vanguard.

I have read the Vanguard Cash Plus info page but this is not addressed (or at least I did not see it).

Anybody know?

[William4u]

Wake me up when money market fund auto-liquidation is available on withdrawals.

Until then, I’ll stick with Fidelity.

And I may stick with Fidelity anyway because FZDXX is close enough in yield, not to mention checkwriting, debit card, free wires, fast deposits, automatic purchase of SPAXX, customer service. Though I would prefer the government aspect of Vanguard’s money market funds.

↑ This is important for me as well (especially the MM auto-liquidation).

[portfolioautopilot]

I don't recommend the account. I've had one for the past 6 months to try out and I've concluded to move everything out of Vanguard.

It's extremely barebones, it doesn't even give you a description on the transactions occuring (you have to guess).

[ClevrChico]

I don't recommend the account. I've had one for the past 6 months to try out and I've concluded to move everything out of Vanguard.

It's extremely barebones, it doesn't even give you a description on the transactions occuring (you have to guess).

If I go to https://cma.web.vanguard.com/cash-center and select "Recent Activity", I'm able to see each transaction with a description similar to a bank account.

The account detail in the app does seem very limited and makes you guess what it is. If you rely on an app to do your banking, best to avoid Cash Plus. (Par for the course for the Vanguard app, unfortunately.)

[anagram]

I don't recommend the account. I've had one for the past 6 months to try out and I've concluded to move everything out of Vanguard.

It's extremely barebones, it doesn't even give you a description on the transactions occuring (you have to guess).

Vanguard is adding additional features so your move may be premature. You were in a pilot!

Also, it does give a full description of the transactions. No guessing required.

[anagram]

I don't recommend the account. I've had one for the past 6 months to try out and I've concluded to move everything out of Vanguard.

It's extremely barebones, it doesn't even give you a description on the transactions occuring (you have to guess).

If I go to https://cma.web.vanguard.com/cash-center and select "Recent Activity", I'm able to see each transaction with a description similar to a bank account.

The account detail in the app does seem very limited and make you guess what it is. If you rely on an app to do your banking, best to avoid Cash Plus. (Par for the course for the Vanguard app, unfortunately.)

The descriptions I see are complete. States to whom the payment was made. No guessing required.

[portfolioautopilot]

I don't recommend the account. I've had one for the past 6 months to try out and I've concluded to move everything out of Vanguard.

It's extremely barebones, it doesn't even give you a description on the transactions occuring (you have to guess).

If I go to https://cma.web.vanguard.com/cash-center and select "Recent Activity", I'm able to see each transaction with a description similar to a bank account.

The account detail in the app does seem very limited and makes you guess what it is. If you rely on an app to do your banking, best to avoid Cash Plus. (Par for the course for the Vanguard app, unfortunately.)

True, I was basing my comments off the app.

[ClevrChico]

I don't recommend the account. I've had one for the past 6 months to try out and I've concluded to move everything out of Vanguard.

It's extremely barebones, it doesn't even give you a description on the transactions occuring (you have to guess).

If I go to https://cma.web.vanguard.com/cash-center and select "Recent Activity", I'm able to see each transaction with a description similar to a bank account.

The account detail in the app does seem very limited and makes you guess what it is. If you rely on an app to do your banking, best to avoid Cash Plus. (Par for the course for the Vanguard app, unfortunately.)

True, I was basing my comments off the app.

Agree 100%. The lack of detail in the app is very bad. Imagine being on vacation and wanting to check the details of a transaction from your phone?

[b4nash]

App is bad but mobile website is good?

[ClevrChico]

App is bad but mobile website is good?

Here's my take on the UI for Cash Plus:

- Desktop Browser: Usable and decent.
- Vanguard App: Barebones, no transaction detail, not good.
- Mobile Browser: Passable, but ugly. Transaction detail present, with a few taps of the screen. If you're used to a good mobile banking app, you probably won't like it at all.

[watchnerd]

From the prior thread I am under the impression the Cash Plus account will not allow me to set-up a monthly automatic transfer. This is an important feature for me --- without it I would rather remain with my existing high yield savings account. If automatic monthly transfers are possible, then I will close the high yield savings account and move this cash reserve to Vanguard.

I have read the Vanguard Cash Plus info page but this is not addressed (or at least I did not see it).

Anybody know?

Correct, it has no automation.

Sucks.

[TomP10]

Correct, it has no automation.

Thanks

[nisiprius]

Can it be used, with all features available, from the Vanguard website? Or are you required to use a smartphone app?

[ClevrChico]

Can it be used, with all features available, from the Vanguard website? Or are you required to use a smartphone app?

Yes, the desktop website lets you do everything. The app is not required.

[RickBoglehead]

So to transfer funds from my Vanguard Brokerage Account, this seems to be the process:

1) Sell brokerage money market on day 1.
2) On day 2, initiate a deposit into Cash Plus.
3) On day 3 2, initiate a buy of a money market in Cash Plus (same one it came from in the brokerage).

To spend funds in Cash Plus:

1) Sell money market on day 1.
2) Funds available on day 2.

I cannot transfer money market from brokerage to Cash Plus directly...

[stan1]

So to transfer funds from my Vanguard Brokerage Account, this seems to be the process:

1) Sell brokerage money market on day 1.
2) On day 2, initiate a deposit into Cash Plus.
3) On day 3, initiate a buy of a money market in Cash Plus (same one it came from in the brokerage).

To spend funds in Cash Plus:

1) Sell money market on day 1.
2) Funds available on day 2.

I cannot transfer money market from brokerage to Cash Plus directly...

I just tried to "transfer investment between accounts" 500 shares of Treasury Money Market fund in my brokerage account to the Cash Plus account. First, the user interface won't let me specify 500 shares just the total value of Treasury Money Market fund. To test it I selected the entire balance. Then got a message saying cannot transfer to a Cash Plus account. So Vanguard knows this cannot be done.

Agree movement of money from funds in brokerage account to Cash Plus is too many steps and takes too long (settlement dates).
I was able to transfer from brokerage settlement fund to Cash Plus and immediately buy Treasury Money Market fund inside Cash Plus account while waiting for it settle. That's now in process so will see what the final outcome is.

I'd like to be able to transfer in kind shares of a purchased money market fund from brokerage account to Cash Plus account (and vice versa) in one step instead of two or three.

Maybe Vanguard's answer to me would be that I should only hold Treasury Money Market fund in EITHER brokerage account or Cash Plus, which I might see the rationale to as I see what's possible with the Cash Plus account. It does seem like this is getting more complicated than it should be. Anyone coming from a CMA account at Fidelity or Schwab would be scratching their heads.

[Lastrun]

.......

I cannot transfer money market from brokerage to Cash Plus directly...

I just tried to "transfer investment between accounts" 500 shares of Treasury Money Market fund in my brokerage account to the Cash Plus account.

Question: Is this an issue because the BH has purchased a MMF other than the settlement fund (e.g. Treasury or Cash Reserves)? Stated differently, is this an issue in VMFXX held as the settlement fund?

[stan1]

.......

I cannot transfer money market from brokerage to Cash Plus directly...

I just tried to "transfer investment between accounts" 500 shares of Treasury Money Market fund in my brokerage account to the Cash Plus account.

Question: Is this an issue because the BH has purchased a MMF other than the settlement fund (e.g. Treasury or Cash Reserves)? Stated differently, is this an issue in VMFXX held as the settlement fund?

What I'm describing relates to purchased money market funds not the settlement fund. Purchased money market funds can be held in the Cash Plus account but one has to sell the purchased money market in the brokerage account with proceeds going into settlement fund then buy the purchased money market fund in the Cash Plus account. I have not tried to sell a purchased money market fund in the Cash Plus account, but my guess is proceeds would have to go to the brokerage account settlement fund then money market shares could be purchased from there.

[NYCaviator]

I’ve been using it and it works great. It’s like a normal high yield savings account that also lets you buy certain MMFs. If they had auto liquidation that would be great.

I think people who want this to be a full fledged CMA or checking account are going to be disappointed, but that’s not what the product is intended to do.

I’ve been using it for short term cash needs. Money for property taxes, estimated federal taxes, etc. works perfectly for that.

[b4nash]

If I’m putting cash reserves into VUSXX at my Vanguard brokerage account already, what is the benefit with this account? FDIC option + ability to direct deposit?

[johnubc]

Considering using this as a one-stop shop for DW for the sake of simplicity. All her retirement accounts are at Vanguard and the rest of her transactions are through Zelle/Venmo/Paypal. Don't have any need for checks or a debit card.

How does one get cash - without a debit card - for daily transactions that require it?

[Lastrun]

Considering using this as a one-stop shop for DW for the sake of simplicity. All her retirement accounts are at Vanguard and the rest of her transactions are through Zelle/Venmo/Paypal. Don't have any need for checks or a debit card.

How does one get cash - without a debit card - for daily transactions that require it?

The quote and your question are both confusing to me. Let me explain.

With regard to the quote when the poster says "and the rest of her transactions are through Zelle/Venmo/Paypal" then there is a bank involved here somewhere for Zelle, since Vanguard does not have Zelle, and for all we know, this could be a brick & mortar bank. So I am not sure of the one-stop shop claim.

Personally, I carry no ATM or debit card (locked online and in the sock drawer) and have no need for cash. On the rare occasion I need cash, I walk into my brick and mortar bank and ask for a counter withdrawal. This is once a year so. The big exception is travel (tipping, etc.) and we pre-plan for that. But the need and planning are marked in many months not "or daily transactions that require it."

[Lastrun]

...... Purchased money market funds can be held in the Cash Plus account but one has to sell the purchased money market in the brokerage account with proceeds going into settlement fund then buy the purchased money market fund in the Cash Plus account. I have not tried to sell a purchased money market fund in the Cash Plus account, but my guess is proceeds would have to go to the brokerage account settlement fund then money market shares could be purchased from there.

This is really helpful. I did not know that you could hold funds in the Cash Plus Account. Let us know what happens when you sell something in the Cash Plus Account, as I think this will be helpful knowledge for the folks that like to use VUSXX or VMRXX.

[Vulcan]

If I’m putting cash reserves into VUSXX at my Vanguard brokerage account already, what is the benefit with this account? FDIC option + ability to direct deposit?

At 4.7% APR, I am making it our main cashflow account. No need to micromanage savings anymore, no need to futz around with MMA purchases. Perfect!

For things it can't do (checkwriting and ATM access), I never use the main checking account for anyway, for security reasons, so this fits our use case perfectly.

Fidelity CMA is mentioned upthread, but if I want to manually buy MMFs, I can still do that. MMF auto-liquidation that Fidelity offers is nice, I guess, but I got burned by it somehow once before (something about hold times, I dunno), and I am never, ever doing it again.

The simplicity of this new account coupled with an almost unbeatable APR is priceless.

[stan1]

At 4.7% APR, I am making it our main cashflow account. No need to micromanage savings anymore, no need to futz around with MMA purchases. Perfect!

Those of us who live in states with income tax that don't tax US government obligation interest will still need to do some futzing between the FDIC account and Treasury Money Market but that is available. Also, under different market conditions, so are National and CA muni tax exempt money market funds. Someone would need very specific personal circumstances to prefer those right now, but market conditions will change over time and I'm sure in the future they will be more advantageous again for those who want muni income exempt from federal tax. I'm glad Vanguard is allowing purchase of money market funds in the Cash Plus account, to me that's a thoughtful feature even if it is some mental accounting :-).

[anagram]

I’ve been using it and it works great. It’s like a normal high yield savings account that also lets you buy certain MMFs. If they had auto liquidation that would be great.

I think people who want this to be a full fledged CMA or checking account are going to be disappointed, but that’s not what the product is intended to do.

I’ve been using it for short term cash needs. Money for property taxes, estimated federal taxes, etc. works perfectly for that.

Same here. It works great. How are you going to pay property taxes, estimated federal taxes from the CP account?

[anagram]

If I’m putting cash reserves into VUSXX at my Vanguard brokerage account already, what is the benefit with this account? FDIC option + ability to direct deposit?

You can also pay bills using direct debits/ACH withdrawals. Works really nicely.

[b4nash]

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experience. I am curious if transaction speed is faster from Cash Plus to other Vanguard accounts compared with other banks to Vanguard accounts? Seems my experience is about 2 business days to transfer funds from external to Vanguard and vice versa.

[Vulcan]

We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it is recognized by our income sources and billers.

Its routing number is recognized as PNC Bank.

[hornet96]

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experience. I am curious if transaction speed is faster from Cash Plus to other Vanguard accounts compared with other banks to Vanguard accounts? Seems my experience is about 2 business days to transfer funds from external to Vanguard and vice versa.

I'm wondering the same thing - i.e. if I receive a direct deposit in Cash Plus, am I able to transfer cash instantly to my regular brokerage account and place a trade? Somewhat similar to how it works when you initiate the transfer to your brokerage account from your bank, where you can immediately place a trade using the pending credit balance?

[privateID]

If I’m putting cash reserves into VUSXX at my Vanguard brokerage account already, what is the benefit with this account? FDIC option + ability to direct deposit?

At 4.7% APR, I am making it our main cashflow account. No need to micromanage savings anymore, no need to futz around with MMA purchases. Perfect!

For things it can't do (checkwriting and ATM access), I never use the main checking account for anyway, for security reasons, so this fits our use case perfectly.

Fidelity CMA is mentioned upthread, but if I want to manually buy MMFs, I can still do that. MMF auto-liquidation that Fidelity offers is nice, I guess, but I got burned by it somehow once before (something about hold times, I dunno), and I am never, ever doing it again.

The simplicity of this new account coupled with an almost unbeatable APR is priceless.

I don't get it either. I have a checking account that I use for for cash flow. I write checks occasionally. I take out money from ATMs occasionally. To me, it's easy to do all main cash-flow from that account. It is linked to my Vanguard brokerage account. I don't have a savings account. Given that I think I need to keep that checking account, I see very little benefit here to adding, in essence, a high-yield savings account.

[Vulcan]

Given that I think I need to keep that checking account, I see very little benefit here to adding, in essence, a high-yield savings account.

I've had multiple checking accounts for years for security separation purposes, and am comfortable with this setup. (All tracked in MS Money, so easy to keep track and transparent).

I won't want my main checking account to be accessible via a debit card (too much can go wrong; plus it doesn't offer international ATM fee reimbursement), nor do I write checks from it.
I have separate checking accounts for PayPal/Venmo/check writing.

What this new Cash Plus does that none of my accounts offered me before is a savings-like yield on the main cash flow account.
It reduces the incentive to micromanage savings, because its APR is better than the Savings account APR at Ally, where our current main cash flow checking lives.

I just signed up and am currently in the process of changing direct deposits and all credit cards/bills autopayments to Vanguard.

[b4nash]

My primary checking account is the hub with all kinds of connections to credit cards, utilities, bill pay, checks, and everything else. I think I like having a minimal amount of money in that account since it is accessed by many third parties. Having my primary account at Vanguard, where the “real money” is stored, would make me a little wary.

[Vulcan]

My primary checking account is the hub with all kinds of connections to credit cards, utilities, bill pay, checks, and everything else. I think I like having a minimal amount of money in that account since it is accessed by many third parties. Having my primary account at Vanguard, where the “real money” is stored, would make me a little wary.

You don't have to have all your money there. But in order to have enough you have to either obsessively micromanage it (either for security or interest optimization purposes) or have some degree of cushion (losing out on interest).

I personally tend to lean towards the former, and having a decent APR will allow me to relax a bit into the latter.

I can still easily buy MMF for extra separation and a little extra yield if I am so inclined, but the threshold is now much higher.

[RickBoglehead]

My practice with my current setup is to move funds from my Savings to Checking the day before bills hit, because my bank won't credit the deposit first. So, if a credit card auto transfer is happening on Thursday, I do the transfer from Savings to Checking on Wednesday.

So, with Cash Plus, if I have funds in the Money Market, I need to sell them on Wednesday, and they'll hit the Settlement Account on Thursday. Will that work, or do I need to move back a day to Tuesday, settles Wednesday, bill hits Thursday?

Not really a big deal, vs. my Ally checking with no interest. Just curious.

[b4nash]

I suppose my concern boils down to: in the event of a security incident or unauthorized access with my Vanguard Cash Plus account, would that present a higher risk to my Vanguard retirement accounts than a similar incident at an external institution?