The social media website Facebook said it will soon be possible for users to send money to friends through Facebook’s Messenger mobile app.
The money transfer system will use bank debit cards of users, and may take up to three days depending on the banks used, Facebook said.
The service will be free and available “in the coming months”, it said.
Facebook says it already handles more than one million daily transactions through its platform for advertisers and for games on its network. The new service will see Facebook compete with other money specialists, such as Square Cash which is in partnership with messaging service Snapchat.
"We use secure systems that encrypt the connection between you and Facebook as well as your card information when you ask us to store it for you", it said in a statement.
