Following the footsteps of social media giant Twitter Inc, popular photo messaging app Snapchat now allows its users to transfer money as well. Partnering with the payment-processing firm Square, it is now offering a friend-to-friend money transfer facility called Snapcash.
In their official blog, Snapchat announced the launching of the "fast, fun, and incredibly simple" Snapcash. "After you enter your debit card, it's securely stored by Square, who will swiftly process your payment and send cash directly to your friend's bank account. Just swipe into chat, type the dollar sign, an amount (eg. $11.25), and hit the green button," it is explained in the blog.
The cash will be waiting for the recipient if they are not already signed up to Snapchat and if they do not sign up within 24 hours, the amount would be credited back to the sender.
Snapchat aims to make payments faster and more fun for its users, it also assures users that security is their foremost concern and that Square has "a ton of experience" in dealing with money. The users who sign up for the Snapcash service would essentially be creating a Square Cash account.
Square, which has its own stand-alone friend-to-friend payment app called Square Cash, "have been hard at work to make Snapcash a great experience for everyone," promises Snapchat officials.
Snapchat, which was founded by the then 23-year-old Evan Spiegel, became one of the most popular messaging apps and has around 100 million monthly active users.
The Snapcash services are currently offered only to citizens of the United States who use Snapchat, over the age of 18 and own a debit or credit card.
In "Introducing Snapcash!" the company explains the concept in a musical number:
Many Internet users remain sceptical of this new and fast way to transfer cash. Snapchat's reputation as a platform to exchange "nude selfies" has also resulted in some dryly humorous tweets.
In what was dubbed as "The Snappening", thousands of private Snapchat images, most of which were nudes, were leaked, after hackers breached the application's security system. Nude photos of many celebrities were also reportedly made public, including that of Jennifer Lawrence, Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson among others.
Nate tweeted, "thousands of snaps get leaked every single day and now #snapchat expects me to give them my bank info, no thanks #snapcash," while Austin Zomer thinks, "Snapcash has to be the dumbest idea ever, fire the dude that came up with that idea! @Snapchat".
Riley Hiliker questioned, "So the number one app that people use while they are intoxicated now has instant access to your bank account? .... ya no thanks #snapcash"
Ryan Shewchuk posted, "Nudes for money. Way to go Snapchat. Oh and hey dudes, no ones paying for your dick pics. #snapcash".
Oliver the Kid rheotorically asked, "lol. how many thirsty ppl gonna try to get nudes for $ on #snapcash", as verrlust declared, "Don't send me nudes. Send me money. #snapcash".
