The app that lets you trade stocks without paying any fees just fixed a big thing it was missing
On Tuesday, Robinhood is rolling out "Robinhood Instant," a free upgrade that makes trading with the app faster.
Robinhood Instant introduces two crucial features.
The first is immediate access to funds, which means you can instantly reinvest any money you make. You used to have to wait three days after a stock sale for your funds to "settle" before buying more stock. Business Insider did a hands-on review of Robinhood late last year, and this was our biggest pain point with the app. It was frustrating to have to wait, and it's easy to imagine this policy leading to a bunch of missed opportunities.
The second Robinhood Instant change allows deposits of up to $1,000 to be invested immediately. Before the update, this would also take a similar amount of time to clear (2-3 days). If you are going to be trading frequently, this piece of the update won't really impact you at all, but it's good for quick onboarding. Robinhood bankrolls this feature by giving you short-term credit while it is processing the transfer from your bank.
How can you update?
Robinhood is rolling out the update gradually. You can "unlock" the update by sharing a referral link (found in your app). "The more friends who create accounts with your link, the sooner you will receive Instant," according to a Robinhood representative.
Here's a full walkthrough of how to use the app.