If you held a SoFi brokerage account, a new class action claims your uninvested cash may have been swept into accounts paying little or no interest while SoFi kept the difference — here is what the complaint alleges and where the case stands.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. SoFi has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and there is nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
A proposed class action filed in federal court alleges that SoFi shortchanged its brokerage customers on the cash sitting in their accounts. According to the complaint, when customers left uninvested cash in their SoFi accounts, SoFi automatically "swept" that cash into interest-bearing deposit accounts at partner banks — but paid customers very low interest and, at times, allegedly 0%, even as market interest rates climbed to their highest levels in two decades. The plaintiff alleges SoFi kept most of the money the cash generated for itself.The case is captioned Smith v. SoFi Securities, LLC, No. 3:26-cv-05456-JSC, filed June 5, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It names SoFi Securities, LLC and its parent, SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI), as defendants. The suit is at the earliest stage: a complaint has been filed, but no class has been certified, SoFi has not responded to the allegations, and no court has ruled on the merits. For background on how these programs work across the industry, see our cash sweep explainer.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint centers on SoFi's cash sweep program, which it says automatically moved customers' available cash — including proceeds from securities sales, dividends, and deposits — into FDIC-insured deposit accounts at partner "Program Banks." The plaintiff alleges that as a broker acting on its customers' behalf, SoFi owed fiduciary and contractual duties to handle that cash in customers' best interests, and that it failed to do so.Among the specific claims in the filing:
- SoFi's own rate sheet allegedly disclosed that "the interest paid to you cannot exceed the rates SoFi Securities earns" under the program — a structure the complaint says guaranteed SoFi would keep the larger share of the value generated by customer cash.
- As of June 5, 2022, the complaint alleges SoFi paid an interest rate of 0.0% with a 0.0% annual percentage yield on all customer balances in the program, regardless of balance size.
- SoFi allegedly set the rate "in its sole discretion without advance notice," and kept it at or near zero even as the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate from a target range of 0.00%–0.25% to 5.25%–5.50% between March 2022 and July 2023.
- The complaint contrasts SoFi's alleged rates with competitors it says paid substantially more on swept cash during the same period, and argues the rates were far below benchmarks such as Treasury bill yields and money market fund returns.
- The plaintiff points to disclosures stating interest would be "based on numerous factors, including the current interest rate environment," and alleges SoFi failed to keep that promise as rates rose.
The Legal Claims
The complaint brings five causes of action on behalf of the proposed class: breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligent misrepresentation and omissions, and unjust enrichment. It seeks damages, restitution and disgorgement of alleged profits, an injunction, and attorneys' fees and costs. The plaintiff also asks the court to certify the case as a class action and to appoint him as class representative — requests the court has not yet ruled on.Who Could Be Affected
The complaint proposes a nationwide class defined as all persons in the United States whose cash was subject to SoFi's sweep program during the applicable limitations period. The named plaintiff is described as a SoFi brokerage customer whose account cash was swept into a partner-bank deposit account under the program. Because no class has been certified, the exact definition — including who is covered and for what time period — could change as the case moves forward. If you held a SoFi brokerage account with uninvested cash, this is the litigation to watch, but there is nothing you need to do to be part of a class at this stage.Read the Complaint
The full class action complaint, as filed, is embedded below.What Happens Next
As a newly filed complaint, the case now moves through the ordinary early stages of federal litigation: SoFi will have an opportunity to respond, likely including possible motions to dismiss or to compel arbitration, and the plaintiff will eventually ask the court to certify a class. Cash sweep cases against other brokerages have followed a range of paths — some have been dismissed, some remain in active litigation, and at least one has produced a settlement (see the $70M Oppenheimer cash sweep settlement). There is no way to predict the outcome here, and there is nothing to claim unless and until the case resolves in a way that provides relief to class members. We will update this page as the docket develops.Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SoFi cash sweep lawsuit about?
The complaint alleges that SoFi automatically swept uninvested cash in customers' brokerage accounts into partner-bank deposit accounts that paid very low or, at times, 0% interest, while SoFi allegedly kept most of the interest the cash generated. The plaintiff claims this breached SoFi's fiduciary and contractual duties. These are unproven allegations; SoFi has not been found liable and nothing has been decided by the court.
Who does the SoFi cash sweep class action cover?
The proposed class is defined as all persons in the United States whose cash was subject to SoFi's sweep program during the applicable limitations period. No class has been certified yet, so the definition and scope could change as the case proceeds.
Is there a settlement or money to claim?
No. This is a newly filed complaint. There is no settlement, no fund, no claim form, and no deadline. Nothing can be claimed at this stage. If the case later settles or reaches a judgment, any recovery process would be announced then.
What is a cash sweep program?
A cash sweep automatically moves uninvested cash in a brokerage account into an interest-bearing place to hold it, most often a deposit account at a partner bank. The brokerage typically earns money on that cash and passes along a portion as interest to the customer. The gap between what the firm earns and what it pays the customer has driven a wave of class actions across the brokerage industry — our cash sweep explainer covers the details.
What should SoFi customers do now?
Nothing is required. You can review your account's sweep disclosures and the interest rate you have been paid, and monitor the case for updates. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
Sources
- Class Action Complaint, Smith v. SoFi Securities, LLC, No. 3:26-cv-05456-JSC (N.D. Cal. filed June 5, 2026) — read the complaint (PDF).
- SEC, Staff Bulletin: Standards of Conduct for Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers: Conflicts of Interest (Aug. 3, 2022) — SEC.gov.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, federal funds rate history — FederalReserve.gov.
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