Robinhood wants to be your bank, not just your trading app

Robinhood wants to be the place where customers keep their money, not just the app where they trade. On its earnings call on Tuesday, Oct. 27, CEO Vlad Tenev described a plan built around everyday banking, payments sent as easily as a text message, and AI agents that help people understand investments and trade. Crypto revenue fell 55% in the third quarter.

The banking push

Robinhood Banking has nearly $5 billion in deposits from more than 350,000 funded customers. About 40% have signed up for direct deposit, which means their paycheck goes straight into the account. Tenev said banking was the largest destination, by dollars, for money customers pulled out of their Robinhood brokerage accounts during the quarter. In his words, that money "is not leaving the Robinhood ecosystem."

Banking still requires a Robinhood brokerage account, Chief Financial Officer Shiv Verma said. Banking and credit are both in limited release.

Payments by text

Tenev showed a payment feature by sending $5 to a colleague by text. The recipient can accept the money with Apple Pay or Google Pay, without opening a Robinhood Banking account. Tenev asked, "Who needs Zelle, right?" Zelle is a payment service run by banks. The feature is in limited release, with a broader rollout expected in the coming weeks.

AI agents for trading

Customers can now use agentic trading inside the Robinhood app, without an outside AI tool. An agent is software that can take steps on your behalf. Here, it explains investment strategies and supports trading. Tenev said the company is moving toward more autonomous execution, meaning the software would act with less human input.

• About 200,000 customers have opened Agentic Trading Accounts.
• Those accounts have produced more than $1.6 billion in trading volume.
• Customers have put more than $250 million into them.

Management did not give a separate figure for AI spending.

The quarter in numbers

Revenue hit a record $1.42 billion, up 12% from a year earlier. Crypto revenue fell to $120 million. Options revenue rose 31% to $399 million, and event-contract revenue grew more than sixfold to $173 million. Net income fell 14% to $476 million. Gold, the paid membership, grew 34% to 5.2 million subscribers.

What to weigh

For Robinhood users, the pitch is convenience: paycheck, payments and AI help in one app. The tradeoff is concentration, since more of your financial life would sit with one company. Banking, credit and text payments are still in limited release, so access may vary for now.