Following the launch, anyone with a Messenger account, even without a Facebook account, can send money to friends and family straight from their bank accounts.
With the help of former PayPal president David Marcus, Facebook first rolled out its payment platform on Messenger in May 2015 for users in New York City.
Users who want to use the service will be prompted to link their Visa or MasterCard debit card before they can send money. Facebook says it has decided against making the new service compatible with credit cards to reduce fraud and do away with exorbitant fees that might turn off users from using the service. Venmo, for instance, is a P2P payments service that allows credit cards but charges a 3% fee for every credit card transaction.
To send payments, users tap on the dollar icon below a conversation and type in the amount they wish to send. They can then tap on Pay on the upper corner of the screen to complete the transaction. A status message will show up below the transaction to tell the user if the payment has been sent. Recipients have to accept the payment when they open Messenger and wait for the money to appear in their bank account usually after three days.
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