- Social network launched Snapcash in 2014 but product has failed to take off with users
- Backed by payments provider Square, money transfer service has faced steep competition
- Snapcash will cease operations on 30 August
Popular social media platform Snapchat has just announced it will shut down its Snapcash online money transfer service at the end of August.
Launched in 2014 at the peak of Snapchat’s popularity, Snapcash was intended to help users access convenient money transfer services to send payments to their contacts directly through the app.
However, the service never really took off.
Over the past several years, Snapchat has struggled to maintain its current base and grow its reach to new users thanks to increased competition from Instagram. The introduction of Instagram’s disappearing story feature, the signature element of Snapchat’s photo sharing platform, has had a particularly negative impact on its expansion.
As for the demise of their money transfer service, officials at Snapchat have not said specifically why they decided to shut down the payments platform.
Industry insiders suggest the move could have been influenced by the rise of new international payments platforms from internet giants like Google, Apple and Facebook. There have also been issues with Snapcash payments allegedly being used for the purchase of inappropriate content and security concerns regarding how the online money transfer service manages users’ personal information.
In a statement, Snapchat said: “Snapcash was our first product created in partnership with another company – Square. We’re thankful for all the Snapchatters who used Snapcash for the last four years and for Square’s partnership.”
Snapcash will cease operation on 30 August.
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