Snapchat has launched a new feature that lets users send money to other clients of the self-destructing messaging app.
The service, called ‘Snapcash’ is a partnership with payment-processing firm Square, which offers its own stand-alone friend-to-friend payment app called Square Cash.
The service will only be available to Snapchat users in the United States who are over 18 years old.
None of a user’s personal financial information will be stored on Snapchat’s servers.
Users who sign up for the service will be creating a Square Cash account.
“We set out to make payments faster and more fun, but we also know that security is essential when you’re dealing with money,” wrote Snapchat in a blog post announcing the feature.
“Square has a ton of experience in this area and our teams have been hard at work to make Snapcash a great experience for everyone.”
To use Snapcash, a user enters their banking information into Square Cash’s servers.
Then, to send a payment, a Snapchat user types in the dollar amount that they’d like to send in a private message.
The app then recognizes the dollar amount – $10 say – and a green payments button appears, which a user would tap to complete the payment.
The payment system is similar to other mobile payment services, such as Venmo and PayPal.
It is part of Snapchat’s broader push to expand beyond its core messaging business by both adding advertising and branching out into live events.
http://blog.snapchat.com/post/102895720555/introducing-snapcash
