Square launched Square Cash last fall as a simple way to send money to people via email. All you have to do is send the recipient an email with the amount in the subject line and Cc: [email protected].

As mentioned at the time, Google had previously launched its own way of sending money by email with Gmail and Google Wallet, but it was only for Gmail, only for the desktop and there was a transaction fee, seemingly giving Square’s offering a leg up.

Square made another move today that could put it further ahead of Google still. A new feature lets anyone request money from individuals or groups.

“The new feature makes it easier than ever to request money – whether you’re a coach collecting dues for little league uniforms or planning a group birthday dinner for a friend, Square Cash is fast and free,” the company says.

“The new request feature makes it effortless to collect money – staving off those awkward conversations with friends and colleagues about the money they owe you,” Square adds. “With Square Cash, anyone can now request money for everything from concert tickets and vacation rentals to class field trips and college textbooks.”

All you have to do is do the same thing you would to send money, but instead of [email protected], Cc: [email protected]. It even works when replying-all to a group thread.

They’ve also added a feature to the Square Cash app (Android, iOS) that lets you check in on the status of a requested payment to see who has paid and who still owes.

Square says people have been using Square Cash to send “millions of dollars” each week.

Image via Square