14 DAY TRIAL // Square set about to revolutionize online payments, an area which, if you've ever used PayPal, is in dire need of some revolutionizing. But planning to do something and actually doing it are two very different things.
Square's first product, a credit card reader for your phone, was a step in the right direction. Now, with the new Square Cash service, the company is finally making good on its promise and is providing one of the simplest personal payments services out there.
"With Square Cash, individuals no longer need to write checks, pay ATM fees or wait for forgotten loans from friends. Customers simply send an e-mail to the person they're paying, and after the recipient enters their debit card number, money is directly transferred to their bank account," Square explains.
With Square Cash, you can send money to any of your friends with just an email message. The process is as simple as it gets. All you have to do is add your friend's email address, include [email protected] in the cc field, and enter the amount you want to send in the subject field.
To receive the money, people just have to provide their debit card numbers. Likewise, for your first payment, you have to provide your debit card number which is then associated with your account.
But there are no accounts to sign up for, no friends list, no card management, no nothing. There is absolutely no unnecessary step in all of this. Needless to say, Square Cache only works in the US.
There are also Android and iOS apps for the service, though they are minimalistic to the extreme. All they do is allow you to enter an amount and compose an email. Granted, there's not much else you need to do, as simplicity is pretty much the point of Square Cache.