Is Facebook Pay the next big thing for payments?  

Source: Unsplash.

Facebook keeps evolving...

A few years ago, Facebook was just a place where you would upload photos and connect with old childhood friends. Today, its influence has reached every region of the world and has extended its domain to other social networks such as Instagram and WhatsApp.

But today, social networks are no longer just a place for photos and comments, and now it is a place to do business, publicize your services, and complete the market cycle, a place to pay.

Mark Zuckerberg does not miss an opportunity to enhance his platform with new functions further, and now the latest to come is Facebook Pay, a function that will allow you to pay for services or make transfers to your contacts through this social network.

However, since the Facebook scandal for sharing information about its users, some people may be skeptical about giving this large corporation access to their money, but is there a need to be suspicious? Is it feasible to pay from Facebook? Are they using it around the world? And finally, is it the next big thing?

Let's investigate how to use this new function, its benefits, and especially if it is safe for our savings.

Let's get started!

How to use Facebook Pay?

The Facebook Pay feature will allow you to send and receive money through its Messenger app, acting as a conduit between you and the payee´s bank. All the transactions have extra layers of security so that hackers can do anything to either party of the financial procedure. All you have to do is associate a credit card, bank or a Paypal account to your Facebook.

If you want to send money with Facebook first, you have to open a Messenger conversation with a friend, to the plus icon and finally click the dollar sign icon. Now you must enter your bank or PayPal account and input the money you want to send.

To receive money, the process is the same, you must add a debit card, and all the money sent to you will be automatically deposited to that account in 1 day.

This feature was launched in November 2019, and you can send money from other Facebook apps like Instagram and WhatsApp, even purchase items from the Facebook Marketplace. Nevertheless, you can´t make business payments with it. Also, focus on the digital marketing funnel.

Source: YouTube.

Many users tend to focus on security, and it is reasonable since we are talking about money.

The important financial data is encrypted by Facebook, which turns data like credit cards and bank numbers into codes that computers can only read. Not having enough with it, the platform applies an additional layer of encryption for all the financial information sent through Facebook Pay.

In addition to this, when you send money, Facebook will only share your name, profile photo and the quantity of money you sent. To confirm your identity, Facebook will ask a series of questions like legal name, date of birth, zip code, last digits of your Social Security number, and the multiple-choice questions you choose, basically the same information you provide to your bank.

Users who want more security can opt for a personal identification number (PIN) whenever they want to send money. This can cancel any fraudulent transactions if a hacker puts hands on your personal items. 

If you own an iPhone or Ipad, you can use the Face ID to analyze your fingerprint or facial features to ensure any transaction you do.

Two-factor authentication can keep you safe from any other hacker by putting two forms of access to your account.

Source: Unsplash.

Facebook Pay buttons for retailers

As we mentioned earlier in this article, Facebook Pay doesn't allow you to pay for the business, but this function will be added by this August. Now users will be able to make purchases from Shopify-powered businesses using this payment method. Whenever you visit a retail show or a supported seller, you´ll see a Facebook Pay Button that will allow you to buy anything you want with Facebook. In the same way, Facebook will be providing attention at checkout with mobile and Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

For this moment, Facebook pay was limited to the company´s platforms, but now the company has the intention to launch a way to shop on those apps, send money abroad and even donate to charities. In June, the added support QR codes add the possibility to send payments to people outside of your friend's group.

Another integration was Shops, which turns business pages on its main platform and Instagram into online storefronts. The platform its using visual search to help people find out more items to buy. This button was also added to WhatsApp.

Source: Facebook

What are People saying about Facebook Pay?

Despite having described good features of the application, such as its surcharge-free transfers, apparently many users have disagreed and think that Facebook Pay is not as reliable as the organization wants us to understand. Here we provide some user reviews who wrote to the Supermoney portal, a platform that rates Facebook pay as "Would not recommend."

Source: Supermoney.

The reviews and information on this platform do not place it as the new big thing for electronic payments. Its poor customer service being mentioned several times. Even so, with only two years of having been developed, there may be certain adjustments that have to be made for its perfect functioning, and with all the economic power that Facebook has, there is no doubt that they can repair this.

Final Thoughts

Facebook is the king of social media at the moment, although its competitors, such as TikTok, have become very popular. However, with two great applications under his hand, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, the hegemony of this application remains almost intact.

With so much power on top, it seems that nothing will stop Zuckerberg from continuing to venture into all the aspects that his platform allows. For now, the next step is to become a platform that facilitates payments between friends and businesses.

Many insightful people tend to have some distrust of the magnate behind Facebook. After all, a great scandal involved him with all the information he shared about his users. Even so, if we choose to read the privacy terms of Facebook Pay, the platform promises us to take care of our financial assets and privacy. It is up to each user whether they want to use this feature or not.

One of the most attractive additions to this platform is that it does not charge fees, something that at least PayPal does, which gives Facebook a competitive appeal.

And you, have you used Facebook Pay? What do you think?

Leave us a comment below!

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