Frequently Asked Questions

About Bloom

What is Bloom?
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Bloom is an educational investing app for teenagers aged 13-17. Bloom charges $15/mo for access to investing under 18, 80+ financial educational modules, fractional investing for stocks and ETFs through UTMA/UGMA custodial brokerage accounts.

How long is the waitlist on Bloom?
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Bloom does not have a waitlist, but Bloom is currently only available to clients in the United States.

Who do you partner or work with?
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Our brokerage services are provided by Alpaca Securities LLC ("Alpaca"), member FINRA/SIPC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AlpacaDB, Inc. Our banking integration is securely done through Plaid, which provides the highest industry standard for security with banking.

We are backed by Y Combinator, the accelerator that launched Stripe, DoorDash, AirBnB, Coinbase and countless other tech start-ups.

How much money do you need to start investing on Bloom?
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After opening an account, Bloom does not have a required account balance. However, please note that deposits and stock orders must be at least $1.

Is Bloom a safe investing app?
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Bloom uses bank-level security and SSL to ensure your information is fully protected. We also offer fractional investing, $0 commission on trades, a learning center with 60+ education lessons and an overall top-tier investing experience.

We use Plaid, Inc. to link your bank accounts and will never store your online banking credentials. Security and safety is the most important priority to Bloom. We hold ourselves to the highest industry standards to ensure this is the case.

For Teens

How old do I have to be to join Bloom?
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Anyone 13 years or older can open an account! You’ll just need a parent or guardian to sponsor your account.

Why is a phone number required to create my account?
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We use your phone number to verify your account & ensure that only you can access our account. When you first download Bloom, we send a SMS code to verify that your account is linked to the correct number.

How / when do I link a bank account?
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After your parent signs up for Bloom, they can link their bank account and deposit funds. They can also allow you to link your own bank account instead (see next question).

Can I link my own bank account?
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Yes, absolutely! When your parent signs up for Bloom, they can select whose bank account should be linked.

If they select yours, you will be prompted to link your bank account and make a deposit in the app.

How do I link a bank account that is not listed on Plaid?
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1. Once you're in the Plaid modal, type in "manual" to the search bar.

2. Below "No results found" select the button that says "Link with account numbers".

3. Enter your bank credentials in the Plaid window to connect your bank and click "continue".

4. Next, type in the name of your bank institution followed by the account type (Checking or Savings).

5. Complete the connection process by selecting the account type (Personal or Business).

6. On the next screen, enter your routing number and then continue to the final screen where you'll enter your account number. Plaid handles this data with bank-grade encryption.

7. Plaid will send 2 micro-deposits (between $0.01 and $0.99) to your bank account, once you receive these micro-deposits, which can take 1-2 business days to arrive, you'll need to verify their amounts in Bloom.

8. After verifying the amounts, you can authorize a deposit!

Why do I need my parent to sign up?
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In the United States, you can’t legally have your own investment account until you turn 18, but your parent can help you open a custodial brokerage account.

How do I invite my parent to Bloom?
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Two ways: you can do it 1) when you first onboard onto the app (you will be prompted during the sign up process) or 2) go to the Account tab and tap Invite Parent.

You'll be prompted to enter your parent's phone #, and you can send them an invite right from the Bloom app!

What can I invest in?
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You can currently buy & sell U.S. stocks and index funds (ETFs). We are not allowing users to trade options or on margin. We value the safety of our end users, and we believe offering these instruments is unsafe.

Who can be my sponsor (parent)?
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You just need an adult over 18 to act as your sponsor.

Your parent / sponsor will have their own Bloom account and have some visibility until you turn 18. We recommend picking a parent or guardian, or someone who you trust to help manage your money.

What is a custodial account?
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Custodial accounts are investing accounts set up by guardians (sponsors) for the benefit of minors under the age of 18. The sponsor owns the account but must use the account for the benefit of the teen.

When the minor comes of age (usually 18-21), they will gain full ownership of the account.

For Parents

What controls do I have as a sponsor?
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You can fund your teen's account through deposits, as well as make withdrawals.

If you choose, you also have the authority to approve or deny your teen's stock trades, as well as set limitations on what types of securities they can trade.

What education features does Bloom offer?
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Bloom has 80+ financial education lessons, styled like Instagram Stories to help teens become financially savvy effortlessly. The lessons cover all four fundamental finance concepts and beyond. Teens can learn about personal finance, investing, the basics of economics, crypto and even famous investors and CEOs.

Why do I need a U.S. Social Security Number or a Tax Identification Number?
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This is a requirement by the FINRA/SIPC to open a brokerage account in the United States. More specified here.

We do not store this information in our servers, and only ask for purposes of compliance through our partner Alpaca Securities LLC and FINRA/SIPC.

I'm a parent but have an Android phone, can I still use Bloom?
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Yes! We offer a parent web portal that you can access here.

How can I, or my teen, withdraw funds?
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In the Transfers page of the Bloom parent portal, you should see a "Withdraw" button, assuming a bank account has been linked. Clicking this will lead you to the withdraw page, where you can withdraw funds to the bank account linked. Deposited funds may take up to 6 business days before they are available for withdrawal. Please note that due to regulatory reasons, only parents can withdraw funds at this time.