Today Facebook has announced Facebook Pay which is their new way of making sure that they provide a consistent payment experience across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Facebook Pay will allow you to add a preferred payment method once and use Facebook Pay where available to make payments. You can also set it up in an app by app basis or set it up for use across the apps. You will also be able to view payment history, manage payment methods and get real time customer support.
This new feature will begin rolling out on Facebook and Messenger this week in the US. Facebook is targeting fundraisers, in-game purchases, event tickets, peer-to-peer payments on Messenger and purchases from select Pages on Facebook Marketplace with this rollout. The company also promises to rollout Facebook Pay to Instagram and WhatsApp in the future.
According to Facebook, they have processed more than $2 billion in donations since they started their fundraising tools in 2015. This is why fundraisers is one of their main targets with Facebook Pay.
Online payments are met with security questions and Facebook promises that your experience will be secure. Facebook Pay will securely store and encrypt your bank account and card numbers, has an anti-fraud monitoring system and you can also add a PIN or use your device biometrics (TouchID or FaceID). They also note that they do not receive or store your device biometric information.
Facebook says that Facebook Pay is their way of making “commerce more convenient, accessible and secure for people on their apps.” This move follows their decision to integrate their various platforms and also they now have a holding company to make it easier to decipher.
The move also comes after they launched their cryptocurrency Libra which has had its fair share of issues and Calibra which seemed to be aimed to disrupt the mobile money space. Facebook indeed wants to dive into the payments business and leverage on theri 2 billion strong user base and it seems like a viable bet to risk on.