Facebook announced the launch of its new Facebook Pay service in the U.S., just in case you felt like handing over more personal data to the company.
The new payment experience will expand across Facebook’s app suite, including its titular app, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. The social network said in a blog post that Pay would make transactions easier and “ensure your payment information is secure and protected.”
Facebook says users can add preferred payment methods to Pay once, then use it where available instead of having to re-enter payment information each time. Additionally, users can set up Pay on a per-app basis — in other words, you can choose to enable Pay on Instagram but not WhatsApp, or vice versa. Users can also enable Pay across all Facebook apps the service is available on.
On top of that, Facebook says users will be able to view payment history, manage payment methods and update settings in one place. It will also offer real-time customer support via live chat in the U.S., Facebook adds this will expand to more countries in the future.
For now, Pay will only be available in the U.S. and only on Facebook and Messenger. Pay will be available for fundraisers, in-game purchases, event tickets, person-to-person payments on Messenger and select Pages and businesses on Facebook Marketplace. The company plans to bring Pay to more people and Instagram and WhatsApp over time.
To activate Pay, head to ‘Settings’ then ‘Facebook Pay’ on the app or websites. Then, add a payment method. Next time you make a payment, you’ll be able to use Pay.
Currently, it supports most major credit cards and PayPal, and it processes payments in partnership with companies like PayPal and Stripe. Notably, the Pay service is separate from Facebook’s struggling Calibra wallet and Libra cryptocurrency plans.
While Facebook pay will likely prove helpful for people — especially through the ability to send money in Messenger — it’s yet another data point that Facebook can suck up. Considering its recent security blunders, like Cambridge Analytica or the app’s ability to access your iPhone’s camera while you browse the news feed, handing Facebook more data may not be the best idea.
Source: Facebook
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