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Snapchat partners with Square for payment service

[November 18, 2014]  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Mobile messaging company Snapchat is launching a new service that lets users send money to each other, in a partnership with online payments company Square.

The service, dubbed Snapcash, allows Snapchat users to link their debit cards to their account and quickly send money to a contact by starting a chat on a smartphone, typing in a dollar sign and an amount and hitting a green button, Snapchat explained in a post on its official blog on Monday.

The move marks the latest sign of expansion plans for Los Angeles-based Snapchat, which lets users exchange photos that automatically disappear after a few seconds. The company has been valued at $10 billion in its most recent fundraising effort, according to media reports, and is considered a growing threat to Web companies including Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc.

"We set out to make payments faster and more fun, but we also know that security is essential when you’re dealing with money," Snapchat said in the post.

The company said that debit card information will be stored by Square and that Square will process the payments, transferring money between bank accounts. Snapchat said that Snapcash is available in the United States for users aged 18 and above.

Last month Snapchat began showing ads on its service for the first time.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; editing by Matthew Lewis)

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