Snapchat users can now put their money where their face is — by sending “Snapcash” to friends.
The popular photo-messaging app announced Monday that users can now transfer money to friends. Peer-to-peer money transferring company Square will handle all the transactions for Snapchat users.
To send Snapcash, users must enter their debit card information, which Square stores. Users can then swipe to the chat feature and type the dollar sign and amount before hitting the green “send” button. They must be at least 18 years old and reside in the U.S.
But due to Snapchat’s past security breaches, one UF computer and information science engineering professor, Joseph Wilson, said he isn’t sold on Snapcash.
“Although they’re not doing the transfers, there might be other reasons why you might not want to use Snapchat,” he said.
Users should investigate Square before entering their debit card information, he said. One way to do this is to search for any company vulnerability assessments.
“Your reliance on these companies is a thing you have to individually decide,” he said.
Square is subject to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, but the requirements are low, Wilson said. This was evident in Target’s data breach last year and Home Depot’s data breach in September.
UF economics professor Doug Waldo said Snapcash won’t affect the use of tangible cash. He said mobile payment is simply an another way to conduct transactions.
“The history has been that there’s a decreasing role for cash in society because we found new ways of making payments,” he said. “But cash doesn’t go out of existence.”
Snapcash could be a way for Square to compete with companies like Venmo, PayPal and Apple Pay. UF marketing senior Carrieanne Reichardt is also wary.
“Snapchat is known for pictures, not information,” the 21-year-old said.
Starbucks barista Christina Dilbone, 21, said people use Apple Pay at her store all the time, but she wouldn’t use Snapcash.
“I don’t like giving personal info to companies online,” the UF sociology senior said, “not to mention they’ve had problems in the past.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 11/19/2014]
