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Comment by grmarcil | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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.

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