INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Snapcash ended up as a way to pay adult performers for private content over Snapchat, not just a way to split bills with friends
But Snapchat will abandon the peer-to-peer payment space on August 30th
Code buried in Snapchat Android app includes a &Snapcash deprecation message& that displays &Snapcash will no longer be available after %s
Shutting down the feature will bring an end to Snapchat four-year partnership with Square to power the feature for sending people
money.
Snapcash may have become more of a liability than a utility
With apps like Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, and Square Cash itself, there were plenty of other ways to pay back friends for drinks or Ubers, so
Snapcash may have seen low legitimate usage
Meanwhile, a quick Twitter search for &Snapcash& surfaced plenty of offers of erotic content in exchange for payments through the feature
It may have been safer for Snapchat to ditch Snapcash than risk PR problems over its misuse.
TechCrunch tipster Ishan Agarwal provided the
below screenshot of Snapchat code to TechCrunch.When presented with the code and asked if Snapcash would shut down, a Snapchat spokesperson
confirmed to TechCrunch that it would, explaining: &Yes, we&re discontinuing the Snapcash feature as of August 30, 2018
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 partnership!& The spokesperson noted that
users would be notified in-app and through the support site soon.
Snapcash gave Snapchat a way to get users to connect payment methods to
That increasingly important as the company aims to become a commerce platforms where you can shop without leaving the app
Having payment info on file is what makes buying things through Snapchat easier than the web and draws brands to use Snapchat
storefronts.
We&ll see how Snapchat plans evolve its commerce strategy without this driver
Earlier this month, TechCrunch revealed that Snapchat code contained mentions of a project codenamed &eagle& that a camera search feature
It was designed to allow users to scan an object or barcode with their Snapchat camera and see product results in Amazon
But since our report, mentions of Amazon have disappeared from the code
It unclear what will happen in the future, but camera search could give Snapchat new utility and monetization options.
Snapcash won&t be a
part of that future, though
Given Snapchat cost-cutting efforts including layoffs, its desperate need to attract and retain advertisers to hit revenue estimates its
missed, and its persistent bad rap as a sexting app, it couldn&t afford to support unnecessary features or another scandal.
