Sending real money to a Twitter user has become as simple as typing:  “#Dwolla @TwitterUser $10.” 

That's because, effective immediately, Des Moines, Iowa-based payments company Dwolla has built in a Tweet dollars function that a registered Dwolla user activates by simply adding his/her Twitter handle to his Dwolla account information.

Earlier, Dwolla – which is supported by The Members Group – had announced that it would let users send money to LinkedIn users.

Dwolla cash transfers of $10 and higher incur a 25-cent fee.  Below $10, they are free.

In a blog post where it announced the Twitter functionality, Dwolla noted, “Just be sure to include their Twitter handle, the $ amount, and #dwolla. Yep, it really is that simple.”

The advantage to the user, noted Dwolla, is that via Twitter he/she can send money to anybody on Twitter “without having to login to the Dwolla mobile app.”

Asked how many Twitter transfers had occurred so far, a Dwolla spokesperson had not offered details by the time this story was filed. 

The spokesperson, when asked how many registered users Dwolla had, replied with numbers that date back to April 2012: 100,000 users, 15,000 merchants.  Updated numbers apparently are unavailable.

A quick look at the Twitter stream for #Dwolla discovered many dozens of money transfers, typically in amounts ranging from a penny to a few dollars.