Block Inc.’s Cash App Launches Neighborhood Network to Challenge Visa & Mastercard

Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. is taking aim at the credit card giants, launching a new payment system designed to bypass Visa and Mastercard entirely. The ‘Neighborhoods’ program allows small businesses to create loyalty programs directly through Cash App, turning it into a rewards hub for customers paying with stored balances, earning perks, and redeeming them across participating merchants. This network offers a 1% transaction fee for sellers, significantly lower than the typical 3% charged by credit cards. Block will also subsidize rewards programs to create a cost-effective system similar to Starbucks.