Now Reading
Twitpay comes out of beta: send money via Twitter

Twitpay comes out of beta: send money via Twitter

twitpay-logoTwitpay, the service which allows you to initiate payments to any user via Twitter, has just come out of beta and is now available for anyone to use.

The concept is as simple as posting a tweet that reads something like “@ev twitpay $1 because Twitter is awesome”. In partnership with Amazon Payments, you can send anything from $0.01 to $50.

Twitpay makes its money by charging a nickel for any transaction over one dollar. When someone chooses to make a payment, Twitpay makes a note on both the sender and recipient account.

It’s an interesting project and it will be interesting to see if people begin to use it. Another way of setting up a tip jar, perhaps? I’d be a little dubious about using the service for purchasing services or goods, though it could potentially be used that way too.

See Also
Future-Proof SEO: Beyond Search Volume for Success

What do you think of Twitpay?

View Comments (6)
  • I’m with you – there’s no WAY I’d “trust” Twitpay enough to use it to invoice a client or pay for goods. So that leaves “tipping” people for their Tweet activity as the sole useful purpose of Twitpay.

    Which brings up the point – what IS the point of Twitpay?

    Is there a nefarious purpose behind the development of this app?

    Is it possible that this is the first step to CHARGING for using Twitter!

    Oh my!

    I shudder to think of the consequences of this!!! (I suspect we’ll see how quickly a “hot app” can die if Twitter is anything but “free”.)

  • Thanks for the writeup. We’ll be adding more features for merchants who want to sell things on Twitter soon. Remember, Twitpay doesn’t touch your money, so if you’d use Amazon Payments to sell things, you’re just as safe with Twitpay…with the added bonus that every sale is also a little plug for your product.

    @Kathy: no, this isn’t the first step to charging for using Twitter. A: We’re not Twitter. B: Twitter has said repeatedly that they’re not going to charge users to use it.

    Twitter’s going to be fine, and we think people will enjoy having a visible and social means of sending money over it. We enjoy using it, anyway!

  • Yeah, I should make it clear that my concerns aren’t with the service itself but with to what extent I’d want to use it. Tipping is fine, or settling a bar tab from a bloggers meetup the night before (just $50?), but for other things, not so sure — I’ll stick to standard invoices and the like.

  • I do hope it can improve the feature to support the transaction for commercial products. Based on its current business model, I don’t think it can survive long enough.

  • You gotta love this concept. I really want to see TwitPay do well. My concern for TwitPay is the same concern I have with Twitter… Security. I have not tried the service yet but intend to do so soon. The possibilities are endless.

Scroll To Top