Facebook will soon let you send money to friends through Messenger

Facebook has just announced a new service that allows you to easily send money to your friends through Facebook Messenger. Once the feature rolls out to everyone, all you’ll need to do is start a conversation with your friend, tap the “$” icon and enter the amount you want to send. After that, tap Pay on the top of your screen, then proceed to enter your debit card information. In order to receive money from your friend, you’ll need to tap the Add Card button in a chat in order to receive the transfer.

The money sent through the Messenger app will be transferred instantly, though depending on your bank, there may be a one to three day delay before the money becomes available to you. Also, credit cards aren’t supported, and you’ll need either a Visa or MasterCard to set up the payment service. On the security front, Facebook explains:

Once you add a debit card, you can create a PIN to provide additional security the next time you send money. On iOS devices you can also enable Touch ID. As always, you can add another layer of authentication to your account at any time.

Additionally, Facebook will use secure systems that will encrypt your connection, and will use “layers of software and hardware protection that meet the highest industry standards”. A team of anti-fraud specialists will help monitor for suspicious purchase activity to ensure your account is kept safe.

The new payment feature will begin to roll out on Android, iOS and desktops across the U.S. in the coming months.