In a move set to disrupt global money transfer services, Facebook’s Messenger has unveiled a peer-to-peer payments feature to allow users of the Instant messaging app to send money to their friends and families freely and easily via the app.
The firm announced, “Today we’re adding a new feature in Messenger that gives people a more convenient and secure way to send or receive money between friends. This feature will be rolling out over the coming months in the US.”
Facebook is joining Apple Pay and Samsung Pay which are both device based. It’s major competitors will be Square, PayPal among others that allow peer-to-peer money transfers globally. We think this will be disruptive as Messenger has been growing its user base day by day and if there are no cock ups, the firm will quickly amass more users globally.
To send money users will log into their app accounts, chat their friends and click on the $ icon and enter the amount they want to send. Users then tap Pay in the top right and add their debit card details to send money.
On the other hand, receiving money, a user will open a conversation, tap the Add Card in the message and add their debit card to accept money for the first time.
The major problem is that the cash will take one to three business days to make be available in their bank accounts.
Facebook is saying its not new in the game as it has been doing this for game players and advertisers since 2007, clocking over one million transactions daily on the site.The first time users to send or receive money in Messenger will need them to add a Visa or MasterCard debit card issued by a US bank then create a PIN for additional security. The new payments feature is rolling out in the coming months in the US across Android, iOS, and desktop.
We are not sure when this service will launch in Africa but we know it will take long before the firm covers the US mainland and considers India, Africa and Latin America.
