In 2014, Snapchat partnered with Square to create an easy-to-use mobile payment system. For about four years, users have been able to send and receive money via Snapcash. However, this service is no longer available from the end of August 2018.
Although inconvenient, you don’t have to worry about the money being sent via Snapcash before the blackout. There’s also a peer-to-peer mobile payment app that Snapchat recommends as a good alternative.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what happens to the money you sent earlier. You will also find a section on how to use the Cash App (alternative mentioned above).
Where did all the money go?
Before it was discontinued, you simply added your debit card to your Snapchat account to start receiving or sending money. From then on, the whole process was simple. Just like PayPal, you can receive money even if you haven’t linked your debit card.
Go to any chat and you can type a dollar sign and tap a button to send money. If you were on the receiving end, Snapchat will send you a notification and the money will be credited to your account immediately.
Sounds cool enough, right? It surfaced in early July 2018, excluding initial rumors of the service being discontinued. And Snapcash only continued to work until August 30, 2018.
If you didn’t have a linked debit card, you had a 48 hour window to do so if you wanted to withdraw money. Otherwise, the money will be returned to the sender. As a Snapcash user, you can preview the transaction history for a month before closing.
How to Use the Cash App
According to Snapchat, Snapcash was also available through the Cash App. So, if you are an avid Snapcash user, you may like the app. Here’s how to use this payment system:
Stage 1
Download and install the app and use the in-app wizard to link the app to your bank account (debit/credit card). After that it’s easy to request or send money.
step 2
To request money in the Cash App, you simply type in the amount you want and press Request (bottom left), then enter the sender ID and purpose. The app allows you to request by sender’s $Cashtag, email address, name or phone number.
When you’re ready, tap Request in the upper-right corner.
Sending money with Cash App is similar to requesting money. But before you hit Pay, tap the drop-down menu at the top of the screen to select the preferred payment method.
Useful Cash App Settings and Features
Compared to the discontinued Snapcash, Cash App comes with more payment options. For example, the app offers users a free Visa debit card that they can use to withdraw money from an ATM.
Tap the profile icon in the upper left corner to preview/change the settings. The following menu allows you to set a security lock which can be Cash PIN or fingerprint scan. You can preview your funds and linked cards/bank accounts from the same menu.
Cash App is also Bitcoin friendly and you can buy cryptocurrency through the app. If you want to add more payment methods, simply tap Add Bank under Funds and complete the account information.
Auto Add Cash is also available and you can set it to a certain frequency or to various conditions such as when your balance is low. Of course, you can cancel the function at any point.
The app lets you customize privacy settings, change your profile information, and more, among other things.
Why Did Snapchat Cancel Snapcash?
The company didn’t make a public statement as to why it decided to discontinue its peer-to-peer payment service, nor did it report usage statistics for Snapcash.
But perhaps it’s because Snapchat (possibly mistakenly) has become the place to market amateur adult content. As a result, some users may have abused Snapcash to obtain obscene images from other users.
Cha-Ching, You Have Cash
Given the fact that mobile payments are on the rise, it’s surprising that Snapchat decided to cancel Snapcash. Also, a code leak has revealed that you can use the Snapchat camera to scan products and be taken straight to Amazon results.
This isn’t exactly the same as Snapcash, but it could be a form of e-commerce marketing. All said and done, it’s best to check out Cash App if you have a soft spot for Snapcash.
