Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Introducing Snapcash

blog.snapchat.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 207 posts

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#151

Post by Robadob »

In the UK one of the banks (Barclays) has setup a mobile app PingIt for this same concept.

Someone sent me money with it, had to sign up to receive it. Due to what I imagine is UK banking laws, a large amount of id/proof of address was required to fully register my account, so that I could also send money.

To verify my address they send a snail mail letter out with a verification code, being a student away at university (moving house every 12 months), I used my parents address. 3 weeks later when I was back home I attempted to verify my address, only to find the code had expired (despite it never mentioning anywhere that it must be done within x days). After rejecting the code, the app appeared to wipe all data regarding my account, now asking me to sign up from the beginning again.

This experience has really ruined my hopes, for a system I was already reluctant to enter.

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#152

Post by baby »

jfernandez wrote: post #21

Maybe I'm crazy (and admittedly a little old) but I like the separation of my social and financial software "zones". I know there are tremendous reasons to incorporate this directly into a social product but I just can't shake that feeling. Am I alone in this or does everyone here on HN embrace this with arms wide open for actual use (vs experimenting or playing around with new products)?

I think their long term objective is to make it in a separate app. Snapchat doesn't have any logs (it's against its principles) and you would want to have some kind of logs if you're sending money. But launch a product through your already successful product and make it something apart when it gets traction.

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#153

Post by [deleted] »

jordanthoms wrote: post #112

Meanwhile, everybody outside the US is trying to figure out how it's taken so long for easy person-to-person payments to happen there. Here in NZ, you've been able to pay directly to someone's bank account number for free for as long as I can remember, and my bank introduced payments to mobile numbers, facebook accounts, and email addresses 3 years ago. (Oh and it's totally safe to broadcast your account number to ev…

[deleted]

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#154

Post by mliker »

mwerd wrote: post #107
MattGrommes wrote: post #102

The first thing people should think of when talking about anything Snapchat does is "How is this going to be used to abuse underage girls?" They've built the company on that so far, no reason to think this won't be used (and tacitly allowed by Snapchat) for the same.

This makes no sense to me. 1) why are you singling out girls? 2) I was under the impression most of the minors sharing lewd photos on snapchat were sharing them with other minors. Sexuality in adolescents is pretty normal and healthy from my own experience and what I've read. The medium is fresh but afaik the behavior isn't. Therefore, I think "abuse" is hardly the appropriate word. If you're insinuating that predato…

Agreed, the OP's claim is preposterous...

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#155

Post by jpmattia »

Negitivefrags wrote: post #139
jpmattia wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> EFTPOS is like the credit card system only with no transaction costs. Somebody is picking up the tab. Is it the merchants? or the banks? gov't (=taxes)?

The merchant has to buy (or rent) an EFTPOS terminal. The bank also charges the merchant a setup fee to connect your terminal to your bank account. Once that has been done there are no more fees. You have to look at the way it evolved. Because this is a service offered to customers by each bank in competition with each other, the competition drove the price per transaction to zero.

> the competition drove the price per transaction to zero.

So the customers are paying. The banks just build it into the banking fees.

It's not like that infrastructure is free.

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#157

Post by saryant »

derwiki wrote: post #33
josephpmay wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are already using Venmo. Nobody is going to switch to Snapcash or Clinkle.

But Venmo hasn't won. Outside the Valley, I don't know anyone who uses it. (although, mostly the same with SquareCash)

It caught on in San Antonio for a bit but seems to have lost all marketshare to Square.

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#158

Post by ricardobeat »

pizzashark wrote: post #122

1. Look over someone's shoulder to get their phone password 2. Take phone discreetly 3. Enter phone, add self on snapchat, put money in Swiss bank account 4. Put phone back in person's pocket

Congratulations, you have +$250 in your swiss bank account.

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#159

Post by mwerd »

MattGrommes wrote: post #117
mwerd wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This makes no sense to me. 1) why are you singling out girls? 2) I was under the impression most of the minors sharing lewd photos on snapchat were sharing them with other minors. Sexuality in adolescents is pretty normal and healthy from my own experience and what I've read. The medium is fresh but afaik the behavior isn't. Therefore, I think "abuse" is hardly the appropriate word. If you're insinuating that predato…

Abuse from peers and the community at large for sending nudes is heaped on girls vastly more than boys. I singled out girls for that reason although boys have certainly be subject to harassment. I absolutely think it's abuse for groups of boys targeting girls to "collect" their nudes for sharing and girls to take the pictures of other girls for use as bullying / shaming fodder. Snapchat encouraged the idea that nobod…

When I was in high school there was a similar shaming incident with a girl and a VHS tape. It's not the medium that's the problem. While I think the majority of the HN community would agree that snapchat has serious security issues, once the images leave the victim's handset it's a hopeless situation. In digital media if it's consumable it's reproducible (just need another camera). That's the lesson for the kids--not this app is or isn't "safe" for nudie pics.

I don't really see a good way to address the bullying issue. It's been more than a decade since I received my first lecture on the permanence of content published to the internet (by my 70ish year old school librarian no less). This isn't a new problem and it seems there's no shortage of regrets out on the WWW. It's safe to say the jury is still out on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_to_be_Forgotten which is what I gather is at least the spirit of what you're advocating?

IMO who's responsible here are the kids and vicariously the parents. The parents need to educate their kids, pay attention to what the kids are doing, and support their bullied kids--even through the justice system if necessary. Less nudie pics created and more punishments of blackmailers are about the only things I think will help. Maybe snapchat not being so naive/deceptive with their security would help in the short term but my bet is any of the 100 other "secure" messaging apps would fill the sucker/idiot gap pretty quickly.

Re: Introducing Snapcash

#160

Post by dkyc »

The guys at Snapchat seem to be completely crazy. But maybe that's exactly what it takes to succeed in the really weird business of replacing cash payments. No matter what, I'm still lying on the floor laughing. Send money easy, it's all so breezy, Snapchat with Snapcash. Chat any cash amount - straight from your bank account! Send money easy, it's fast and greasy! Snapcash Snapcash Snapcash in Snapchat!
Post reply on HN