Facebook has introduced peer-to-peer payments via Messenger for people in the UK and France.
The feature enables fast, free and secure transactions for people living in the same country – for example, from one person in the UK to another person in the UK, but not across borders.
To send or receive money via the app, users will have to set up their payment account with their debit card details, open a conversation, enter the amount they wish to send and then tap “Pay”, or “Accept” if the user is receiving money.
Payments are transferred right away but will take one to three business days to show up in users’ accounts depending on their bank.
The UK and French roll-out follows a successful US launch in 2015, where studies have shown the feature is especially popular when it comes to splitting restaurant bills and paying babysitters – with most people using payments in Messenger to send less than $50 (£38) at a time.
The top reasons for sending money in the UK and France include celebrations, social events and festive occasions.
“All debit card credentials are encrypted and protected with bank level security and our world-class anti-fraud specialists monitor payments,” Facebook said in a blog post.
“In the rare case that we find unauthorized activity on your account, we’ll work with you to secure your account again.”
M suggestions, Messenger’s virtual automated assistant, will recognise when users are discussing payments in a conversation and guide them through the feature.
