On March 17, Facebook announced that they are adding a free feature to send money through their messaging platform. There is not a release date yet, but users in the United States will have access to the feature in the coming months. The news breaks nearly 10 months after Facebook hired former PayPal CEO, David Marcus, as their VP of Messaging Products.
In a press release, Facebook explains that its users will be able to send money simply by adding his or her US bank account information. The amount of money sent by the user will be sent automatically through Facebook. Even though the funds are transferred directly, similar to most money transferring services it can take one to three business days to appear in the listed bank account.
Facebook’s newest venture may come as a surprise, since social media outlets are vulnerable to attacks. Getting hacked on Facebook is as simple as clicking the wrong link or video and then instantly the user’s friends are getting tagged in posts that he or she did not create.
How will the brand convince users that their payment data is safe on the messaging platform? Facebook is building trust based on the financial security that gamers and advertisers have experienced in the last eight years. The press release states that, “Facebook processes more than one million transactions daily on the site and also handles all the payments processed on Messenger.”
Facebook will provide multi-layered authentication options; one method will be creating a pin to enter before transferring money. In addition, it will be possible to have touch recognition on iOS devices. Another option will be to add more security features in place; as example, having a code sent to a person’s phone.
Apple Pay and now Facebook, payment keeps evolving; however, authentication and verification remain important.
