A recent blog post from Snapchat has detailed the launch of its new in-app payments system, in partnership with Square Cash.
The system will be called Snapcash and will utilize Square Cash technology, which already exists as its own app and allows users to transfer money from themselves to another user. It’s been made available to Snapchatters via an update, but is only available to those in the United States that are over the age of 18.
The blog post reads:
“We loved it so much that we wanted to create something with them that felt Snapchat-y. So we built a Snapcash prototype and shared it with the team at Square. Luckily for us, they were just as excited as we were and wanted to build it together.”
To use Snapcash, users need to enter debit card details which are then stored by Square, which processes your payment and sends it directly to the recipient’s bank account.
To send cash, users will have to access the Snapchat chat function. When typing, if users input a ‘$’ sign followed by an amount, the send button changes to green. Tapping it will send the payment.
However, the use of the $ sign to send payments seems both logical, but illogical at the same time – how soon will it be until we see friends asking simple questions to each other, like “how much does a brand new iPhone 6 cost?”. Could the response produce an accidental windfall for the prankster?
It seems that the initial response, evident from the comments section on the blog post, is crushingly negative. Things have been said like ‘”this is the worst idea in the history of ideas” or “what would make this company think sending money in this app is what we want?” There doesn’t appear to be any positive reaction to it here. Of course, comments sections draw a specific kind of person, and it is yet to be seen how convenient the system could be. It wouldn’t be the first time that Scepticism has turned into praise from users.
Snapcash is set to arrive in an impending update to Snapchat. It will be available to everyone in the US with a debit card – provided they are 18 or over.