Billions of dollars at risk on Venmo, Paypal, federal regulator says

(CNN) – A federal regulator is warning people not to store cash on platforms like PayPal and Venmo.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Rohit Chopra issued a statement saying more people are using such apps to keep their money.

Some are even having paychecks directly deposited to these apps.

The problem is, unlike traditional banks, these platforms are not insured by the federal government.

If they go under, there’s no recourse and the money is gone.

The financial technology association admits that’s true but points out it’s unlikely the services would collapse.

But the CFPB says billions of dollars are at risk.