Facebook Messenger users will soon be able to send money while still chatting with friends!
Designed to allow money transfers right away*, this feature allows users to link their debit card* to the app and send payments directly using the
"$" icon. The recipient of the money will also have to link their debit card to the app to accept the transferred funds.
This free feature will be coming out within the next few months in the U.S. to Messenger on Android, iOS and the desktop, however Windows has not been mentioned.
Instead of focusing on in-store purchases like Apple Pay or Google Wallet, Facebook is temporarily choosing to focus on peer-to-peer payments, making them a competitor with PayPal and Snapchat. Currently processing millions of transactions for its advertisers and games on their site, Facebook will benefit at large with the release of this new feature.
* The payment feature does not currently allow payments through credit cards, prepaid debit cards and PayPal.
*Transfers may take one to three business days for the cash to be made available to the recipient, depending on the bank involved.