Payments startup Square has expanded its Square Cash service, which lets US consumers send money to a contact via email, to include support for sending funds via an SMS text message.

The update to the Square Cash app “adds the ability to simply send or request money from everyone in your address book using just their phone number (or email address), even if the recipient doesn’t have the app,” the company says.

“Cash also features a refreshed design, the ability to keep track of payments and requests via push notification, and a new Profile feature for linking all of your email addresses and phone numbers to your account.”

“The majority of people who use Cash receive funds in their bank account within minutes — ready to spend — with no fees, or the inconvenience of a secondary account balance,” Square adds.

The high profile startup is currently in the process of raising a further US$200m in funding at a valuation of US$6bn, “sources familiar with the matter” have told CNBC.

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