Square announced the launch of Square Cash for businesses in the U.S. Until now, the product has only been available to individuals.
The company appears to be trying to kill checks, and so far, it’s made a pretty big splash in peer-to-peer payments. Square Cash only launched in late 2013, and it is already processing over a billion dollars a year.
“Individuals aren’t the only ones who don’t like checks,” says Square. “They’re inconvenient for businesses too, whether you’re a landlord, a lawyer, a dogwalker, or an interior decorator. We think everyone should have access to a fast, affordable way to get paid, without the inconvenience or lack of security of cash and paper checks.”
With Square Cash for businesses, Square deposits payments directly into your bank account (rather than a holding account), and offers a professional rate of 1.5%.
To go with Square Cash, Square is giving businesses a new service called $Cashtags, which serve as unique identifiers that let anyone create a personalized name while getting paid privately and securely. Businesses can post these anywhere so people know Square Cash is an acceptable form of payment.
“Businesses aren’t being paid by just their friends and family,” the company says. “They need to market themselves to everyone, without necessarily giving away private information like their e-mail address and phone number.”
It uses $ErinHills and $SunsetPhotography as examples of $Cashtags monikers. Here’s a closer look:
“We think $Cashtags are a fantastic marketing service that lets your customers, donors, fans, or even friends pay you quickly and securely,” says Square Cash lead Brian Grassadonia. “Many artists, musicians, and social media stars now accept payments with their $Cashtags. Curtis Kulig, a New York City-based artist known for his iconic ‘Love Me’ campaign, uses $LoveMe to fund new public art projects. Joy Cho, an avid Pinterest user and designer with over 13M followers, uses $OhJoy to accept payments from her various clients.”
Nonprofits like Wikipedia, (RED), Khan Academy, The USO are also using $Cashtags.
You can claim a $Cashtag in the Square Cash app or by going to cash.me.
The company notes that you can use $Cashtags on social media profiles (including Pinterest) and at the end of YouTube videos.
Images via Square