Why Cash App Aligned With Tours By The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar & Sza,Sabrina Carpenter & More

When artists announce ticket on-sales for their tours, the presales often include a partnership with a premium rewards credit card. While it’s a great perk for cardholders, it can create a high barrier of entry for many, especially younger consumers who tend to have lower incomes, face credit score limitations and can’t pay high annual fees. Financial services platform Cash App aims to offer a more inclusive alternative and is spreading its brand messaging by aligning itself with major tours.

To wit, Cash App announced an exclusive presale earlier in February for The Weeknd’s “After Hours Til Dawn” stadium trek featuring special guests Playboi Carti and Mike Dean. The initiative included exclusive stamps designed by The Weeknd, which were made available for fans to create unique card designs. Plus, Cash App Card cardholders received a 20% instant discount on all official merch purchased on-site with a Cash App Card. And for every presale ticket purchased for the tour via the Cash App Card, Cash App is donating $1 to L.A. wildfire relief.

“Cash App’s philosophy is that everyone should have access to the financial system — and that includes the rewards that come along with cards,” says Zack Ashley, Global Head of Brand Partnerships at Cash App. “That’s why we’ve always offered a free debit card that comes with its own reward system. With a Cash App Card, customers can gain access to discounts through our Cash App Offers program, as well as concert presales, without paying high fees or other barriers to entry,”

Cash App, which was known as Square Cash when it launched in 2013, has expanded from a person-to-person money transfer service to include features such as savings accounts, crypto wallet, stock trading, tax filing, direct deposit and banking services via its bank partners.

Other recent successful live space partnerships for Cash App, which is owned by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block, a technology conglomerate, include teaming up with Kendrick Lamar for his 2024 “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” Juneteenth concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, as well as the rapper’s upcoming 2025 stadium run with SZA, the “Grand National Tour.” Ashley says both were “major cultural moments in 2024 and included first access to tickets via the Cash App Card presale.” Cash App had previously partnered with Lamar on his 2022 “The Big Steppers Tour.”

During the trek, Cash App’s financial literacy spot starring Lamar and Ray Dalio, hedge fund titan and head of Bridgewater Associates, ran on the main screen before the artists took the stage.

And then there was the presale for Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet Tour,” which launched in September and sold-out North American arenas through November. Then, too, Cash App released free limited-edition Sabrina Carpenter stamps customers could use to design their Cash App Cards as well as partnering with the “Espresso” star to bring her tour to life through coffee shop takeover activations in New York, Chicago and L.A.
Other artists Cash App has worked with include Shaboozey, Karol G, Drake and Lil Nas X.

Reflecting on how branding has changed in recent years, Ashley references a mantra often heard throughout branding: “Authenticity matters more than ever,” he says.

“We always aim to engage with our customers in an accessible and relatable way. Leaning into the music and culture space has been a strategic play for the Cash App brand and seamlessly connects with our audience.