NEW YORK: Facebook has added the feature of transferring money using the Facebook Messenger; it is for this reason that Facebook hired a former PayPal executive last year.
The method to send and receive money cannot get simpler than this. To send the money to a friend, the user has to open the chat with that friend, click on the $ icon in the Messenger App and type the required amount to send and click on the Pay button in the top right. If you are a first time user, you will be asked to enter your Visa or MasterCard debit card details. Once you add the card, you can create a PIN and opt for additional security. After the first time, every time you wish to send the money, you will need to enter this PIN to authenticate yourself and proceed with the transfer.
If you are on the receiving end, all you have to do is open the chat with the friend and click on the Add Card button and enter your card details. After the first time, there is no need to add the card again. Once the adding is done, the required amount will be transferred to the respective bank. According to Facebook, even though the transfer will proceed immediately, it might take one to three business days to actually get the money into your account just like it does with other deposits.
Facebook also said that you need not be worried about the security issues. Facebook has years of experience of handling advertisers money and they won’t allow any misdemeanour to take place. They said that they are using secure systems to encrypt connection between the user and Facebook and the payment systems are kept in an entirely separate environment from Facebook network and receives additional monitoring from anti-fraud specialists. Currently, Facebook isn’t taking any extra charges for the transactions and this feature will be rolling out in US across Android, iOS and desktop in the coming months.
