You may soon be able to loan your buddy some cash via Facebook’s Messenger app.
Facebook Messenger has not received the most positive of reactions from fans, especially after Facebook forced users to download the app after disabling the messenger function from the main Facebook app. But, it may soon be getting a few neat features that will justify its existence. Namely, some hacked screenshots from Stanford computer science student Andrew Aude show that users may soon be able to send friend-to-friend payments using the application.
Aude used iOS app exploration developer tool Cycript to discover the feature, which he believes is fully implement, and only requires Apple to “flip the switch” to turn it on. He explains that Messenger’s payment option lets users send money in a message similar to how they can send a photo. Users can add a debit card in Messenger, or use one they already have on file with Facebook. An in-app pincode also exists for added security around payments.
The existence of this feature certainly lines up with what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the company’s Q2 earnings call earlier this year. “Over time there will be some overlap between [Messenger] and payments. […] The payments piece will be a part of what will help drive the overall success and help people share with each other and interact with businesses,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aude claims that Facebook keeps the transaction private and doesn’t publish anything about it to the News Feed, and for now, there doesn’t seem to be a fee associated with using the service, though he believes that this will eventually change. Interestingly, only debit cards are supported by the service, and there is no PayPal option.
Aude says that Facebook will probably launch the service in the US in the next few months, with the rest of the world to follow.
Would friend-to-friend payments be enough to get you to install Facebook’s messenger app?
Source: Tech Crunch
Published: Oct 6, 2014 03:36 am