Snapchat, an app that allows users to share pictures that are deleted within 10 seconds, is branching out of the social photo sharing realm to give people a new way to pay at stores or give money to friends, called Snapcash.
“It’s something that other companies have tried before; Facebook, eBay and things like that,” Mike Koehler, Vice President of Smirk New Media and adjunct professor, said. “Snapchat’s doing that with a new feature for users to be able to do that for each other.”
A Snapcash user must link a debit or credit card to their Snapchat account, and they can quickly send money to a contact on their friends list by typing in a dollar sign and the amount by hitting a green button.
Snapchat teamed up with the money transferring service, Square. Square lets a person send money via email.
Snapcash’s launch came with complications regarding hacking and technological issues.
“They’ve made a very big deal when they first announced [Snapcash] and they’ve had some hiccups with the technology, but that’s really no surprise that [it] happened,” Koehler said.
Because of the hacks Snapchat had in the past, Koehler said he does not trust Snapcash.
“What worries me is that I don’t trust Snapchat as a company,” Koehler said. “If I were a user I definitely wouldn’t trust them with anything financial.”
The security risk Snapchat poses makes Koehler weary to trust its newest feature.
“It just depends on the company that you want to give that information to,” Koehler said. “I have more trust with Apple and with Google than I do with Snapchat, just based on the security. Snapchat would not be something I will ever give my credit card information to.”
Senior Danae Syracuse occasionally uses Snapchat, but said she does not like the idea of Snapcash.
“Snapchat is basically just sending people selfies,” Syracuse said. “There’s nothing bad about that, but the Snapcash thing should be discontinued.”
Because Snapcash requires giving credit card and debit card information, there is a possibility of identity theft.
“If you’re giving someone your credit and debit card information, you’re asking for your identity to be stolen,” Syracuse said. “Actually, identity theft via mobile phone or 3G network is a fastest growing crime in the U.S.”
Snapchat and the Snapcash feature are restricted to users 18 years or older, but Syracuse doesn’t believe it will deter younger users.
“I don’t think that narrows it down at all,” Syracuse said. “I know a ton of people that use Snapchat that are under 18, but if they want to do this they will.”
Senior Riley Compton said Snapcash is an example of how technology is evolving to keep up with a younger generation.
Compton uses Snapchat regularly and, like Koehler, believes Snapchat’s past of security breaches will deter the use of Snapcash.
“I don’t think I’ll ever use the Snapcash,” Compton said. “Even though it’s more secure, Snapchat’s been prone to being hacked. Actually, about a couple of months ago they got hacked. About 10 thousand users had their pictures recovered, but the security is going through Square, which has a lot more of a protective aspect. They want more secure, which is good, but I don’t think that I’ll ever use [Snapcash].”
Compton said he does not think Snapcash will last for long.
“It’s a good idea, but it’s just not going to be used enough,” Compton said. “I think it’s going to fall flat within the next year.”
Through its partnership with Square, Snapcash is safer, but not completely, he said.
“Nothing’s safe when you put it on the Internet,” Compton said. “Everything could potentially be hacked. When you’re putting anything out there, you run the risk of eventually, possibly having that be recovered by somebody or hacked by somebody. Whenever you risk that information you know you’re taking some sort of risk. It’s safer giving it to square than it would be giving that information to Snapchat.”
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