While Facebook Messenger's entry into finance is not new, we never really got to think of it as a payment platform. Essentially so far we've had it in our minds as a messaging platform but the company is trying to become more than just an inbox.
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The Facebook Messenger team on Friday gave us a first look at the new "Split Payments" feature. It's basically a way to organize and pay joint expenses you have with friends, roommates, co-workers or anyone you share bills with. Similar to apps like Splitwise, Split Payments allows you to create a joint expense, split the account in half or modify the contribution corresponding to each person. You also have the option to include or exclude yourself from the expense.
Once all the information is in the app, you can send a request to the people who need to pay you in Messenger, receive the payment via Facebook Pay and transfer it to your bank account.
"If you've been struggling to split (and get reimbursed for) group dinners, shared household expenses or even monthly rent, it's about to get easier," the Facebook Messenger team said in the announcement.
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The company didn't provide many details regarding Split Payments. From the promotional image provided, it appears to be designed for use in Messenger group chats. Person-to-person payments are already possible through Facebook Pay in Messenger, but it's unclear whether Split Payment features, such as equal account splitting, will be available in those cases.
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Facebook Messenger next week will start testing Split Payments for users in the US. The feature will be offered for free. No information was given on when the feature will be released for everyone in the US or if it will be rolled out internationally.
Source of information: gizmodo.com
