https://www.yahoo.com/tech/how-to-send-money-on-snapchat-103138292194.html
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/02/02/512434920/snapchat-all-grown-up-5-things-we-learned-from-snaps-ipo-filing
Snapchat, or Snap, is going public and is estimated to raise at least $3 billion. Snapchat’s popularity is notorious for its functions as a secret social media app. Although Snapchat’s payment partnership with Square, another digital payment service, isn’t new to the app, its data security including its financial services is a huge concern in light of the impending IPO.
Snapchat’s partnership with Square allows Snapchat users to send money using their debit or credit cards. This means that each user shares their financial information with two companies, Snapchat and Square, increasing the risk that personal information could be leaked.
In the Yahoo article, sending money to your friends is as easy as sending a selfie, with a click of a few buttons. Although there is a security feature that allows users to enter their CVV number for each payment, the concern with this transactional system is where personal information will be stored, especially since Snap is moving their storage to Google Cloud.
With the growing popularity of digital payment methods, it’ll be interesting to see how a popular app created with secrecy in mind will either perpetuate or remain stagnant once Snapchat files their IPO.
What an interesting article! I find it very fascinating that a social media application would pair up with a financial service provider. I agree that it is very risky, and would require a lot of security for this to work. With Snapchat saving information to the cloud, I believe it leaves the application very vulnerable to attacks. If infiltrated, millions can be affected. I personally do not trust using social media to transfer money.
I find this article very interesting. I would not have expected a social media application to pair up with a financial service provider. I believe that it is a very risky move, and would require an extensive amount of security to be successful. Since Snapchat saves all of its data, it is vulnerable to attacks. If infiltrated, millions can be affected and Snapchat would lose its credibility. I personal would not trust my financial information to any sort of social media, no matter how secure it claims to be.
Reading this blogpost raises a couple of thoughts for myself. First off, I wonder how a public IPO will help snapchat grow, and what other features they will plan to implement. I know that snapchat has been slowly finding ways to generate revenue through this app. As for the partnership with Square, this is interesting as I would think users would rather use a number of different payment options besides snapchat, venmo obviously being the first choice for many. I do not think that security would be too much of a concern because they are working with Square, an established payment company. This should ensure that each payment is secure. I personally do not see any value added by adding payment options to snapchat. I think it just adds an unnecessary feature to the app, as the app has its main purpose of sending pictures and messaging others. Overall, I am curious to see how snapchat will change with the IPO, as our generation has been using the app since its infancy.
I don’t think Snapchat should put their foot into financial payment system area. Being a popular social media is totally different from being a financial service provider, which the later would require an extra large amount of efforts and cost.