Facebook Launches Integrated Payment on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram

Following the footsteps of Apple and Google and its own plan to rule the payment industry, Facebook has taken yet another step to enter the domain. This time through a non-crypto route called Facebook Pay. 

Presently limited to the US audience, the social media giant has launched the provision to make payment across the brand’s four main platforms – Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. 

It will start rolling out on Messenger and Facebook this week for different purposes like in-app purchases, and ticket booking, etc. 

“Over time, we plan to bring Facebook Pay to more people and places, including for use across Instagram and WhatsApp,” Deborah Liu, Vice President, Marketplace and Commerce at Facebook, said in a statement late Tuesday.

Users will be able to use Facebook Pay for sending money to their friends, make donations, purchase event tickets, or buy services or goods from the Facebook Marketplace, although presently, it will be restricted to a select pages and stores. They will also be able to see the payment history, manage the payment methods, and update all the settings in one place. 

In the announcement, Facebook laid out two prime details: 

First – the payment platform would be completely different from Libra network. 

Second – Payments would be enabled on app-by-app basis, meaning if you use Facebook Pay on Instagram, the company would not directly allow payments to be made on WhatsApp till you explicitly mention it. 

Noting how the brand has received several backlashes because of their carelessness with user data, the company ensured that they would use a combination of activity alerts, encryption, and biometric authentication to make sure that users money stays where it rightfully belongs. Deborah Liu, Vice President, Facebook Marketplace, said the following on the matter:

“We designed Facebook Pay to securely store and encrypt your card and bank account numbers, perform anti-fraud monitoring on our systems to detect unauthorized activity and provide notifications for account activity. You can also add a PIN or use your device biometrics, such as touch or face ID recognition, for an extra layer of security when sending money or making a payment.”

Users will be able to make the payment through their choice of credit and debit cards along with their PayPal balance. 

PayPal, after pulling support from under Libra association last month, has come forward to back Facebook Pay, giving the payment service a much needed head start. 

How to set up Facebook Pay 

If you are based in the USA, you will soon start seeing the feature in your Messenger and Facebook app. In order to enable it, head on to Settings > Facebook Pay on the Facebook app or website. There, add your choice of payment method. And you are done.

One thing which is pretty evident from Facebook’s efforts to enter the payment industry is that the industry is far from being overcrowded. This translates into a still prevalent opportunity for entrepreneurs to partner with a Fintech app development company and develop a P2P payment app.