Sending money to friends or getting money from friends can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you live with roommates, this can be a daunting task. transferring money to friends and family doesn’t have to be difficult though. Facebook understands this, which is why they’ve introduced a new feature allowing users to send money to people through their popular Messenger app. Just pick a person from your contacts list and tap to open a message, find and tap on the dollar symbol icon and easily select the amount to send off.
At this point Facebook prompts users to enter in their debit card information where the money gets pulled from, and viola, that’s really all there is to the sending process. For users receiving money, the steps are just as simple. Tap in the message box and enter “add card”, enter in debit card information and the money gets sent to your bank account. Facebook states that this could take anywhere from one to three business days to transact depending on the bank, but the whole process is secure and fairly quick. On top of that, it’s free meaning that sending money between users doesn’t have any associated fees, so it won’t cost you $25.50 to send off $24.
The feature starts rolling out across Android, iOS, and the desktop interfaces of Messenger over the coming months, but Facebook didn’t mention any specific dates. For those worried about the security, the payment system is kept in a secured environment separate from the rest of the Facebook network. Facebook also states that the payments are encrypted, and users have the option to set up a PIN for future payments after the very first time they send one which should add a little piece of mind for those weary of anything having to do with online payments. When payments in messenger goes live it will be compatible with VISA and MasterCard debit cards, and those using the feature on iOS will be able to utilize TouchID for an extra layer of security, so it’s possible we could see them open up this capability to those using Samsung Pay on the new Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge.