Square Now Lets Users Stash Their (Square) Cash

Square is bringing new functionality to Square Cash, the peer-to-peer payments app, and now is allowing users to store money alongside the extant ability to send money to recipients. The currency holding feature is to be known as Cash Drawer, according to a release on Monday (Feb. 29) through a company blog.

The company said that the Cash Drawer can be used to “stash cash they receive directly in the app,” and in addition, users can add funds from their own bank accounts. The end result, said the company, is “making it easier to set aside funds” for costs that can range from dinners to weightier expenses, such as rent payments. The app keeps all Square payments in one place, and the funds can be accessed through selecting a button denoted as “Cash Out,” which then transfers stored funds to an end user’s bank account. Within the next several weeks, said the company, there will exist the ability to access both the Cash Drawer and to bring the Add Cash function live as well, in essence moving closer toward digital wallet functionality.

TechCrunch reported that the new features, while a departure from a simpler, less service-oriented model, may interest smaller merchants who have, thus far, used PayPal or Venmo. The site noted that the activation of the Cash Drawer is driven by a toggle switch, which means that the app need not always be on (and thus the implication is that the transaction speed need not be slowed down). The Cash Drawer is now available through Square Cash iOS and also through Android, according to the TechCrunch article.