Most freelancers and business owners are looking for the simplest and most affordable platforms of making and receiving payments from customers and employers. They also want to find convenient ways of sending money to friends and family members.
With those things in mind, Square Cash is one of the best options for them. This platform helps its users to send and receive money through their mobile phones without any fees.
In this article, we will discuss what Square Cash is, how to create a Square Cash account, how to use it, and some of the pros and cons of using it.
What Is Square Cash?
Square Cash is an app that Square, Inc. introduced in 2013. It is a service that makes sending money as simple and easy as sending an e-mail. It promotes a solution to manage regular payments including rent, services, and more. Designed as quick and easy to use, it is one of the most convenient ways of sending and receiving money from anyone.
Square Cash is a free, fast, and safe mobile banking app. Users need not write checks or even pay ATM fees. Furthermore, the recipient of the money you’re sending to doesn’t need to be physically present because it facilitates online and long-distance payments. They will receive the money sent to them wherever they are. However, the recipient needs to enter their debit card number before the money can be transferred to their bank account.
What Does Square Cash Do?
Square Cash is an app that helps individuals and businesses send and receive payments digitally. Moreover, it helps small businesses to accept credit card payments. It offers a cashless, cardless lifestyle to consumers. Furthermore, users can transfer the balance on their Square Cash account to their bank accounts.
If you’re looking to try out a cashless lifestyle, why not try WePay as well? We have a guide that talks about its features and how to use it.
How To Create An Account?
There are two ways on how you can create a Square Cash account. It’s either on the Cash website or in the Cash app. Here are the steps to create a Square Cash account.
Through the Cash Website
- Go to the Square Cash login page.
- Enter your contact number and the email you want to use.
- Click “Request Authorization Code.”
- A confirmation code will be sent either through an SMS text message on the mobile number that you provided or through your given e-mail.
- Enter the sent confirmation code on the space provided.
- After entering the code, click “Log in.”
- You will confirm if the name you’ve registered is correct.
- Press “Next” to continue with the process.
- Link your Visa or MasterCard debit card.
- Upon linking your card, add the expiration date, CVV, and your ZIP code.
Through the Cash App
- Using your Android or iOS device, go to the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store.
- Look for the app using the search bar and install the Square Cash app.
- Open the app and enter your mobile phone number or your e-mail address.
- Tap on “Next.”
- A confirmation code will be sent to you either through a message on your mobile number or your e-mail.
- In the app, enter the confirmation code by typing it on the space provided.
- After that, tap “Next.”
- Link your Visa or MasterCard debit card.
- Upon linking your card add the expiration date, CVV, and your ZIP code, you can now use the app.
How Can You Add Money To Your Cash Card On The Square Cash App?
- First, open the app on your Android or iOS device.
- When you reach the home screen, click on the “My Cash” tab. It’s located in the bottom-left part of your interface.
- Click “Add Cash” on the “My Cash” page.
- Enter the amount that you wish to add.
- On the “Add Cash” page, enter the exact amount of cash that you want to add to your Square Cash App.
- Confirm the amount that you want to add to your funds before clicking the “Add” button that you will find at the bottom of the screen.
- Click “Add.”
- After clicking “Add,” you have now added funds onto your Square Cash App account and card.
How to Send Money Using Square Cash?
Square Cash offers several ways to send money.
Through Cash.me Website
It is easy to send money through Square Cash on a browser. You need to know the $Cashtag (the brand-specific username) of your recipient: just put a dollar sign before the name of your recipient. Also, you can send money even if you don’t have a Square Cash account.
Through Square Cash App
Square Cash app is very easy to use. You just have to follow the instructions in the app. If you are asked to enter the amount that you want to send and the basic contact information of the person to whom you are sending the money, just do so. You can use the receiver’s phone number, e-mail address, or $Cashtags.
- Enter an amount of $1 or more then choose “Pay.’
- Insert the name, mobile phone number, or $Cashtag of the recipient.
- You can add a note or description if you want.
- Tap “Pay.”
Through Siri
To use Siri to pay with Square Cash, be sure that your iPhone has the latest version of iOS.
- To enable Cash with Siri, go to “Settings.”
- Select the Siri & Search option.
- Scroll down until you see the app.
- Select it then toggle “Use with Siri” settings so it’ll be active.
- You can now send payment to anyone in your contacts.
Through iMessage
- Open iMessage on your apple device.
- Tap the “Apps” icon that you will see over the keyboard.
- Enter the amount of money that you wish to send when a prompt appears.
- Click on pay to continue.
- You can choose if you want to “gift wrap” the money that you want to send or not. With that, the recipient won’t be able to know the amount of money you sent until they open it.
- Select the account or card you want to use to make the money transfer.
- You can add a comment if you want to.
- Send the funds.
Through Snapcash
This applies to Snapchat users. However, the user should sign up for Square Cash. He should go to Snapchat settings. On the settings, he needs to tap “Snapcash” then “Add Card” to link his debit card. Here are the steps to send money using Snapcash:
- On Snapchat, swipe on your friend’s feed.
- Type the dollar sign along with the amount that you’ll be sending.
- When you see the green Snapcash button, tap it. With that, you will be prompted to accept the Terms of Service the first time that you use the service.
- Type your debit card’s details in the space provided. This applies only for the first time of using Snapcash.
Through E-mail
- Make an e-mail to whomever you want to send the money, be it an individual or a business.
- Write the amount that you want to send on the subject line.
- Cc Cash@Square.com on the email you’ll be sending. That way, they will know that you are trying to make a payment or send money.
- If you prefer, you can also write a message in the message body or just leave it blank.
- Send the e-mail.
How To Receive Money?
By Sending a Request
- Open the Square Cash App on your Android or iOS device. The first time that you open the Square Cash App, you have to sign up or sign in.
- Go to Cash to request for money.
- Next, input the amount that you wish to request. Use the number pad of your device to do it.
- After that, tap “Request” that you will find at the bottom-right side of the screen.
- Enter a recipient on the “To” line. Choose a person or multiple people to request money from.
- To choose a person or people, you can use their contact name, $Cashtag username, or mobile phone number. Moreover, you can allow the app to access your contacts. With that, you can select a recipient from your contacts.
- You can also add a note if you want to. Use the “For” line to type your note or message.
- Tap the green “Request” button that you can find at the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Your payment request will be sent to your recipient’s e-mail or mobile phone via SMS.
Accepting Payments
Another way to receive money via Square Cash is through accepting payments. If the person sending you money has done so in the past, their payment will be automatically added to your account. However, you have to manually accept a person’s payment if it’s your first transaction with them. Here are the ways on how you can accept the first-time payment:
- On the Square Cash app, go to the “Activity” tab. It is the clock icon that you will find at the bottom-right corner of your device’s screen.
- Under the “Pending” tab that you can find at the top of the screen, you will see any requests that you have made that others were not able to complete.
- You may also see pending payments and a green “Accept” button next to them.
- Tap “Accept” to accept and receive the money they sent.
- A pop-up prompt will appear and ask you to confirm if you want to receive that person’s payment.
- Tap “Confirm” that you will find at the bottom of the screen.
- After that, tap “Done.”
If the person sends you money again in the future, the money will be automatically added to your Square Cash account. There’s no need for you to confirm the payment.
Cashing Out Balance
- Open the Square Cash app.
- To open the “Account balance” screen, tap the dollar amount. You can find it at the top-middle of the app.
- Tap the Cash Out button.
- You’ll have two choices, Standard and Instant. Standard allows you to receive the money a few days after. Meanwhile, Instant will allow you to receive the money right away for a small fee.
- First-money transfers need to link their bank accounts. Tap your bank from the list of banks provided. In case you can’t see the name of your bank, all you have to do is click on the Other button.
- Sign in to your bank. To link your bank account, you should use the same credentials that you used when you sign in to your bank.
Pay Through Square Cash
One of the cool features of Square Cash is its virtual card product. It gives every Square Cash user a virtual Visa debit card number. You can immediately pay for an item as long as they accept Visa. Users can spend their balance on any online shopping site. They just need to enter the virtual card number as the payment option. Also, they can use it in some stores, but only the available funds can be used.
Pros And Cons Of Using Square Cash
Pros
- Cashtag payments
- No Square Cash fees
- Offers rewards
- Different ways of sending and receiving funds
- Ideal for low-volume merchants
- No monthly fees
- Impressive features
- Affordable chip card readers
- All-in-one payment system
- Easy to use
- Secure remote payments
- Downloading the app, connecting your bank account, making payments, and transferring funds to your account are free
- Signing up is easy and quick
- Supports standard, U.S.-issued AMEX, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit and debit cards
- No need to install the app, just provide your debit card number
- Buy, sell, deposit, and withdraw Bitcoin
Cons
- 3% fee if you use a credit card
- Can’t be used outside the U.S.
- Can’t mix accounts
- Only connects to your bank account
- Not suitable for high-risk industries
- High charge for instant deposits
- Limited customer support
- Payments are limited to $ 1,000 per month
- No foreign payment can be made or accepted
- Support can only be reached through their social media accounts or email
- Square Cash can terminate any account or hold the funds if justified
Square Cash Alternatives
PayPal
PayPal offers payment services and solutions not only to consumers but also to businesses. This digital payment service offers a simple, domestic, and international money transfer method through e-mail. It’s a hit for people who prefer to do their shopping online. Users can also send or receive money through its website or the app by linking their debit or credit card. Both small businesses and large corporations can include PayPal payments on their online checkout process. Additionally, its users need an e-mail address to sign up for an account. To complete the setup, they also need to provide their credit or debit card. Sending and receiving money has never been this easy.
If you’re looking for the best PayPal alternatives, you can check out our list today!
Google Pay
Formerly known as Google Wallet, this fast, free, and simple way of sending and requesting money doesn’t require the recipient to have an account. Also, it makes paying online, in apps and stores, very easy. Users can make payments with their Android phones, tablets, or watches. Use your email address or your registered phone number to send money to whoever you want. Moreover, the received money can be directly transferred to the default payment method.
Facebook Messenger
This is free for all Facebook users. However, it requires using a debit card and doesn’t support credit cards or linked bank accounts. Moreover, its use is limited to personal transactions only.
Pay Anytime, Anywhere With Square Cash
Whenever we go shopping and find interesting and useful things, we tend to buy them. However, we can’t avoid running out of cash sometimes. This causes us to either call for a friend for cash or just go home and get some. Square Cash makes it easy for us to pay anytime, anywhere. When we are in a certain store, we can just message our friends to send us money. We can also request our loved ones to send cash our way. When we receive the money they sent, we can use our virtual debit card provided by Square Cash to use for paying. Now, cardless and cashless options are possible with Square Cash.
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