Last month, Facebook began rolling out a new payment platform inside its Messenger service, though it was only available to those in New York City. On Tuesday—and following an option to sign up for Messenger without a Facebook account—the social networking is making the payment option available to everyone across the U.S.
The new payment option is similar to the litany of other p2p services on the market. Simply link your debit card, and you’re ready to start paying friends (or receiving funds). The best part is that no fees are involved. You and your friends will need to have a checking account linked for the feature to work.
In chat, you’ll see a money icon under the “Type a message…” prompt. Press it, type in the amount you want to send, and hit Pay. Facebook says payments can take up to three business days depending on your bank. Otherwise, it’s fairly simply, and directly takes on services like Venmo—assuming you don’t mind having your bank account linked to Facebook.
Facebook says its service is private and secure, but it still helps to be extra cautious when using a p2p service that’s also a social network.
