What is Snapcash?
Snapcash is a peer-to-peer payments service launched by Snapchat in November 2014. It allows Snapchat users in the United States with an American bank debit card to connect their debit card to Snapchat and send money to friends that have also linked their debit cards through the app.
The service is made in partnership with Square, a financial services company co-founded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and uses the company's technology and backend systems to run. The Square Cash payments app is the backbone for the Snapcash service on Snapchat.
To send money, Snapchat determines the user's debit card information by using data from Square as well as public and third party sources of information. When a payment is sent, the funds are taken from the sender's bank account instantly and deposited to the recipient's bank account once they accept the money. The service is aimed to make it easy and fast for Snapchat users to transfer money to each other without having to use any other app or share debit card details.
The feature is accessible from the Snapchat Chat section. The user can swipe down to reveal a cash icon after typing a $ symbol in Chat. Snapchat uses the debit card information stored in Square Cash to determine the account details. When a payment is made, the Snapchat account name is visible to the sender and recipient but bank details are not shared.
Snapcash is part of Snapchat's strategy to become more than just a messaging and social media app by providing intuitive money transfer capabilities through their platform. The feature is limited to the United States as of 2020 with future international expansion plans unknown.