Snapchat Files Trademarks To Handle Payments

Snapchat generated intrigue by filing two trademarks indicative of the potential introduction of peer-to-peer payments, money transfers, or digital payment options. These filings took place on July 11th, managed by an attorney from Cooley, Snapchat’s recognized legal firm. The essential intention behind these trademarks is to bar competitors from offering similar services under the Snapchat brand. An official statement from Snapchat regarding these filings was requested, but no comment has been provided yet.

While the idea of Snapchat transacting money might invite some light-hearted doubt, this step could mark a significant shift in their business strategy.

The trademarks are essentially for:

1. “Software application for managing digital payments to and from others that can be downloaded from a global computer network.” – Trademark Serial # 86335306
2. “Digital money transfer services; offering electronic processing of electronic funds transfers, ACH, credit card, debit card, electronic checks, and electronic, mobile, and online payments.” – Trademark Serial # 86335307

Initial speculation about Snapchat’s profit-making strategies primarily revolved around advertising, in-app purchases of virtual items, and brand sponsorchips for promoting live events. These fresh trademarks, however, suggest a departure from the usual.

Snapchat isn’t alone in weighing the potential profitability of money transfer services. Facebook has roped in PayPal President David Marcus to helm its Messenger services.

Snapchat has also bolstered its revenue department by recruiting Instagram’s business head Emily White as COO in late 2013 and bringing onboard Facebook’s Global Director of its Preferred Marketing Developer program, Mike Randall, to serve as Snapchat’s VP of Business and Marketing Partnerships.

If Snapchat does integrate payment services, it could allow users to send money among each other, or enable online shopping through a registered credit card on its app, imitating Venmo’s model. They could monetize this by applying a nominal fee on transactions, circumventing methods like intrusive advertisements, selling filters, or jamming the user interface with brand stories.

This evolution could lead to opportunities such as purchasing products directly from a flash sale Snap sent by an ecommerce company. Given Snapchat’s past ventures in ecommerce, like providing links for users to buy featured songs from its new feature announcements on iTunes, this shift seems feasible.

At the least, Snapchat may have filed these trademarks to secure the chance of processing payments under its own name.

source: Josh Constine/TechCrunch

This article saw a significant update in 2025 to better reflect present circumstances and to enhance clarity.

Updated in 2025 to align with recent developments.