Square Cash 2.0 Adds Free Money Transfer by Text Message, Payment Notes and More | Hacker News Reader

Square Cash 2.0 Adds Free Money Transfer by Text Message, Payment Notes and More

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74 pointsalphast0rm32 comments

I know nobody that uses this. Even the free $1 they offered when it first launched wasn't enough to convince me to link it to my bank account. Anybody have a different experience?

My friends, coworkers and I use it constantly (nearly daily) for the same stuff we used to use Venmo for: splitting tabs/cabs/etc. It's just a little more convenient in that a new user can be set up without having to download an app (always annoying when cell coverage is spotty) and there is no separate balance to keep track of other than your normal bank balance. I do find it a little too simple to initiate a transfer, but you can add a restriction that forces you to input your debit card's CVC code to actually initiate a transfer.

Square Cash is awesome. It's so simple and powerful but free. It's almost magic.

Even if the person you want to transact with doesn't have it, it will handle that on their side. Really good UX because there practically is none.

It's insanely easy to use and is one of my favorite apps. Splitting rent, utilities, etc with a roommate, settling a debt with an out of town friend, etc. Basically any time you write a check to another individual, Square Cash turns that process (finding your checkbook, writing a check, mailing it, opening the letter, endorsing the check, mailing/delivering to the recipients bank) to opening the app, typing the amount, and pressing Send or Receive.

Everything you wrote could describe Venmo as well, which has been around for a while and has a lot of traction (at least in my social groups).

Is there any reason you prefer Square Cash?

The disadvantage with Venmo is you have to carry a Venmo balance and cash out. Square sends straight from card to card.

Sort of related, the onboarding with Square Cash is easy enough (no bank account numbers needed) that I feel less bad sending to someone who doesn't already have it than I would with Venmo.

You actually don't need to carry a balance with Venmo to send funds to a friend. If you have a balance of $0, you can send funds and Venmo will pull the funds from your bank account.

But you do carry a balance to receive funds, until you cash out. With Square you receive funds directly into your bank account via your debit card.

See, I've been hearing about and seeing people use Square for years, and I've never heard about Venmo until now.

Honestly, I came across Square Cash first, liked it, and have stuck with it.

I've since taken a look at Venmo, and I prefer the fact that Square Cash has the absolute minimum of features. No Square Cash Balance (all payments go directly bank account to bank account), no social feed, no social integration.

The neat thing about it (for me) is that it doesn't feel like a commitment to anything the way Vemo or PayPal accounts do. It's actually super light touch. You don't have a special account that you have to cash out and you actually don't have to link your bank account. You just give it your debit card and it lets you send from your debit card to someone else's.

My friends, roommates, and I use it all the time to settle minor debts, pay rent, and split bills. It's simple enough that we can make quick payments, and because it's built on top of email it inherently keeps transaction histories.

I haven't seen Square Cash 2.0, but I don't really see myself or my friends branching out from the dead simple email usage.

I don't really know many people who use any of these services. Literally zero that use Square Cash, a few that use Venmo, the vast majority 'use' Chase QuickPay by virtue of being Chase customers. I've ended up signing up for a QuickPay account even though I'm not a Chase customer, on that basis.

I use square cash all the time when I sell stuff on craigslist because:

1. People have usually heard of those little smartphone card swiper things.

2. It doesn't require any account setup or installation.

3. It works through email, which is already what we were using to communicate on craigslist.

We use it to pay our babysitter, it's awesome.

My mom used it to send me money. It's the only way I send money these days to people who aren't on the Bitcoin bandwagon.

Do you use Venmo? Anecdotally, I've seen minimal overlap between users of Square Cash and Venmo (excluding Square employees).

My friend who is a personal trainer uses Venmo. I don't like how it posts to Facebook / other sites that the users have linked venmo to, everytime some pays someone.

Venmo doesn't post the amount to facebook on the payee's wall, but posts the short text description that the payer who pays the payee writes in venmo when making the payment.

IMO this is TMI and a 'not-so-good' friend of yours could see you receiving a lot of payments on venmo that appear on your facebook wall and then decide to rob you.

It's optional on a per txn basis.

I use it to pay my dogwalker/dogsitter. It was so much easier than leaving cash on the table or trying to futz around with Paypal. She's not that technologically savvy, so needing only her email address was great. I've also used it to pay friends back for my half of dinner and bills.

It just doesn't seem safe to me. Whether or not it actually is is a different story but it doesn't give me the warm and fuzzy.

You're not liable for fraudulent debit card transactions so there's no risk to you, any more than with a credit card.

There's a huge difference in that fraudulent debit card txns may immediately deplete your bank account while credit card issues can usually be resolved before your bill is due.

This app has a UI flaw. My friend was testing how cash request works. Her request arrived when I was already inside the app (just exploring it). And without giving me even a warning it started the process of verifying my SSN and all that. When the process was over, I had apparently given the green light to transfer the money with no recourse possible. This is stupid and frankly dangerous. I understand seamlessness has its prices but the workflow should be adjusted to avoid large cash transfers without giving the person to think about it.

You wanted more confirmation before you received the cash? I could go deposit money in your bank-account w/o you knowing at all...

What's the potential for abuse?

Perhaps acceptance of cash (even if it's an installment) can be construed as the start of a contract?

Also look how far the politically connected go to avoid taking cash from the "wrong donors" (e.g.: NRA contributing to a anti-gun activist).

Among other things:

Person A wants to ruin person B's day. So person A plants rumors that person B has been bribed, and gets some random shady person to send a reasonably large amount to person B.

There's a $250 weekly limit with new accounts, and if you want to send more you must submit your name, date of birth, and the last 4 of your social. After that it goes up to only $2,500, so I doubt random shady people will depositing large amounts to anyone's account via Square Cash.

The parent post said "request"; I'm assuming this is some "seamlessly pay invoice" functionality.

If Venmo wants to get back in the game, they need to support depositing money to bank accounts via cards only just like SQC. The only reason I don't use Venmo to receive money is because I don't want to provide my bank account/routing number.

You mean the two numbers that are at the bottom of your checks? The ones you freely give out to complete strangers?

Honestly, Venmo just works better for me at this point.

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