Facebook this week expanded access to the new payments feature introduced in Facebook Messenger earlier this year and only available in a few cities initially to Messenger users in New York City and the surrounding metro area.
Alongside the NYC area launch, Facebook says the payments feature is also receiving a handful of updates designed to make payments easier to use than before. Dollar amounts sent in Messenger conversations are automatically hyperlinked to allow you to send a payment with a simple tap once the payment is confirmed by the sender.
Also new, payments will now work in group conversations, too, rather than just simple individual person-to-person payments.
If you’re new to Facebook Messenger, you can connect your Visa or MasterCard debit card with Facebook Messenger, and then tap the dollar-sign button (if available) to send money to friends. Individuals can take advantage of this feature, while businesses still are playing the waiting game at this point in time. Facebook hasn’t said whether businesses will ever get the feature, but does say it plans on continuing the feature’s rollout in the coming months.
Currently, over 600 million people use Facebook Messenger actively, though Facebook hasn’t confirmed how many of those can access the payments feature.
Have you used the feature yet? Let us know in the comments!
Facebook Messenger can be downloaded on most major mobile operating systems.