How Does Money Work in GTA 6?

GTA 6 is right on the horizon, and with all the information we have now, there are a lot of questions about the game that we can answer. One of these questions is: how, exactly, does money work in Rockstar’s new masterpiece?

Let’s get right into it.

GTA 6 Money System Explained

Money values on-screen during the extended look at GTA 6. — Image via Rockstar Games

GTA 6 will have three different “accounts” in terms of cash. You’ll have a bank balance, which is clean money you can presumably use with a card (given the focus on realism). Then you’ve got cash, also clean money you can use out of pocket. Finally, you’ll have “dirty money,” which is whatever illegal goods or cash you have in your duffel bags.

I’ll get into how you clean this dirty money in a second, but first, allow me a quick tangent. In the previews, Rob Nelson, Co-Studio Head at Rockstar North, told TGG that it wouldn’t make sense for Jason and Lucia to be able to buy safehouses, since they’re on the run. Yet, if they have a bank balance, it tracks that they have a bank account.

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I double-checked this because I’m not in the US, but you do need proof of identity to open a bank account over there. So, how is it that they can fake an identity for a bank account, but not for real estate purchases? Now, this could well be explained in the story (maybe Dre’Quan or someone else close to the couple opened a bank account for them?), but I still wish we could buy safehouses.

Anyway, thank you for entertaining my tangent. Let’s talk more about money in GTA 6.

Lost Cash and Clean Money

Firstly, whatever cash you have on hand can be lost if you’re wasted or busted, so to keep your cash safe, you’ll have to deposit your cash at an ATM regularly. For any illicit goods you’ve gained, their value will show up below your cash with a duffel bag icon, as explained by TGG.

To “clean” this money, you’ll need to take the items to a fence, at which point they’re presumably converted into cash, which must then be deposited into an ATM to be kept safe. I’m also assuming that any cash stolen during a heist should be legal tender immediately, unless it’s marked bills that need to be laundered. But money out of a cash register or people’s pockets should be safe to deposit into an ATM.

It’s unclear right now whether you’ll be able to use your bank balance for purchases at any time, but I’m assuming you can, just like in GTA Online. This is based on the fact that if Jason and Lucia have a bank account, they presumably have a card for the account. However, I do remember some purchases in GTA Online requiring you to have cash on hand. I haven’t seen that in a while, so it might have been removed from the game since.

Which makes it seem logical that the same sort of system will apply in GTA 6.

And that’s pretty much all there is to know about the money system in GTA 6. We’re on a mission to answer all your questions, so if you have more, potentially check out whether GTA 6 has Dead Eye, or whether we’ll need to sleep in GTA 6.