The Messages app on iOS for the most part has always felt a bit like a gloried SMS app. It sends and receives messages, it allows users to attach media, and that’s pretty much. This is versus other apps like WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat, and so on which have richer features like voice/video calling, minigames, stickers, and so on. All of this changed in iOS 10.Not only did Apple announce that they would be introducing new ways for users to be able to express themselves using Messages, but it seems that iMessage users will soon be able send each other money. This is a feature enabled in the likes of Facebook Messenger, BBM and Viber, just to name a few, and it looks like it will finally be making its way to iOS and iMessage users.
However this won’t be a native feature baked into the app. Instead users will need to download the Square Cash for iMessage app in order to take advantage of it. This is part of Apple’s agenda in which they are encouraging developers to help build apps and increase the functionality of the Messages app by integrating services, like Square Cash.
We suppose the fact that you need to download the app kind of puts up a barrier to entry, but we guess the functionality is there for users who might need it. According to a statement released by Square, “We’re excited once again to work with Apple to make payments easier than ever, this time with Square Cash. Whether you’re using Messages or Siri to send Square Cash, or paying with Apple Pay at a Square seller, Square makes payments fast and easy for Apple customers.”
Filed in . Read more about Apps, Imessage, iOS 10, Wwdc and Wwdc 2016.