Facebook users will now be able to send money to their friends through the company’s messaging app, Messenger. To use the service, the network members will need to connect a debit card or bank account to their Facebook profile.
The long awaited app was announced this Tuesday. The app will let users connect their debit card to their Facebook account allowing them to easily send money to other Facebook users. The Messenger app has reshaped its interface and introduced a small “$” icon above which opens the payments tab where users can manage their funds.
The app can be used on android mobiles using a pin for secure authentication while for iOS users will be able to use the Touch ID app to log into their account.
“The first time you send or receive money in Messenger, you’ll need to add a Visa or MasterCard debit card issued by a US bank to your account. Once you add a debit card, you can create a PIN to provide additional security the next time you send money. On iOS devices, you can also enable Touch ID.”
For now, the popular social network isn’t using Messenger payments for extra revenue, and already informed that it won’t be charging any transaction fees.
What can this mean to Bitcoin?
Today many companies such as PayPal are working on developing its own mobile payment system. The new p2p messenger payment network makes Facebook a direct competitor to other p2p payments network options like Square or Snapcash and of course Bitcoin. With this new feature, Facebook will have no need for bitcoin whatsoever and probably we won’t see the social network integrating the digital currency anytime soon.
