Facebook’s Messenger app will soon let you send friends
money, the latest in a crowded field of services aimed at an
increasingly wireless and cashless generation.
Services including PayPal, its Venmo unit and the
disappearing-photo app Snapchat let you beam money to
friends and family using smartphones linked to bank accounts
or credit cards.
Facebook’s entry, announced on Tuesday, is free, works with
debit cards and is available on Apple and Android mobile
devices and on desktop computers.
The world’s largest social network will process the payments
and emphasized the service’s security features.
Facebook will likely expand internationally after the service
becomes available to U.S. users over the coming months.
To send money, Messenger users can tap a new “$” icon
that’s next to the buttons that let you send photos, stickers
or a thumbs up sign. Then, enter the amount you want to
send, tap “pay” on the top right corner and enter your debit
card number. To receive money for the first time, enter the
card number.
Once you add your card number, you can create a pin code
that you will need to enter the next time you want to send
money. On Apple devices that have Touch ID, you can enable
this instead and authorize transactions using your fingerprint.
To help allay concerns about security, Facebook noted that it
handles more than a million payments transactions on its site
every day for its advertisers and game players.
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