Snapchat unveils money exchanging service Snapcash

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Photo-sharing app Snapchat unveiled a new money-sending feature with payment service Square called Snapcash.

The app lets users send money to each other through their messaging service straight from their debit cards.

Users will open the text messaging service in the app and type "$," which will signal the app the user intends to send money. The user typed in the amount, selects the green money button and the user to whom they intend to send the payment. The recipient will then have 24 hours to collect the payment before it is refunded.

Users will only be allowed to transfer $2,500 per week and the app will only work when tied to Visa or Mastercard. All the details are held by Square Cash, so there is no risk of payment information falling through the numerous security breaches Snapchat has recently experienced.

"The product you're seeing today is fast, fun and incredibly simple," said Snapchat in a statement.

This is the first time Square payment service has been used through an app. Snapchat has declined to disclose details of the partnership. The app has been experimenting with ads in order to generate revenue and this payment system may foreshadow a way to complete purchases in the app.

Peer-to-peer payment services like Venmo and Paypal are growing in popularity. Forrester Research estimates that by 2019, those types of payments will reach $17 billion per year in the U.S.