Facebook's plan to assert greater control over its company's sprawling divisions is no secret, as was first reported back when talks of unification of the messaging infrastructure of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger first emerged. The company then went on to make its branding very prominent within these services, to really remind users of the umbrella under which all of these services operate. Now, taking advantage of the same umbrella, Facebook is launching Facebook Pay, a new payment system for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.

Facebook Pay claims to be a convenient and secure payment method that provides a consistent payment experience across Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Facebook Pay will make existing transaction habits within Facebook easier while ensuring payment information is secure and protected. The highlight for the average user, though, is the convenience and consistency in experience, wherein they can add their payment method once and then use the same across some of the world's most popular and widely used services.

With Facebook Pay, users can:

  • Add a preferred payment method once, and have it be available for use across Facebook apps
  • Choose to set up Facebook Pay app-by-app or across apps, meaning that Facebook will not automatically set up Facebook Pay across the user's active apps unless the user chooses to do so
  • View payment history, manage payment methods and update settings in one place
  • Get real-time customer support via live chat in the US

Facebook Pay will begin rolling out on Facebook and Facebook Messenger this week in the USA for fundraisers, in-game purchases, event tickets, and regular person-to-person payments on Messenger and purchases from select Pages and businesses on Facebook Marketplace. In the near future, Facebook Pay will be made available for more regions, and for more services like Instagram and WhatsApp. The service supports most major credit and debit cards as well as PayPal. Facebook also clarifies that this new service is separate from the Calibra wallet which will run on the Libra network.


Source: Facebook