Square Reveals “Square Cash” Email-Based Money Transfer Service

A new page on Square’s website has revealed a platform called Square Cash that would allow users to send money to debit card accounts via email, as TechCrunch first spotted.

Details on the Square Cash page are scant, but the platform describes itself as “the easiest way to send money to anyone, using just email and your debit card.” The platform is currently only available via invitation, and the site lacks even an area through which perspective users can apply to join. According to All Things D, only Twitter, Pinterest and Box.com employees currently have access to the platform. 

Square says that each payment costs $0.50 to send but that there is no cost to receive money. To collect funds, users need to link to a debit card after the payment is received, and funds show up in the linked checking account within 48 hours. Square says it doesn’t hold the funds in a secondary account.

One possible use case for Square Cash is highlighted on this page that’s light on information but heavy on graphics.

The move comes shortly after Google Wallet revealed a platform that’s similar in theory, integrating with Gmail to allow users to send and receive money for a “low fee” of $0.30 and 2.9 percent per transaction.

Square Cash can also be seen as another front in Square’s battle against PayPal. The two companies engaged in a clash over MPOS platforms just last week.

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