Facebook may soon test a ‘red envelope’ payments feature — Recode — “Red envelopes are typically used for gift giving, especially for holidays like Chinese New Year, but the ability to gift someone money on Facebook would mean Facebook could also facilitate peer-to-peer payments. The company already offers payments like this in Messenger, but not on Facebook’s main website or app.”
Facebook’s WhatsApp to offer in-chat payments in India
WhatsApp in-chat payments feature is bad news for digital wallets, payment companies in India — FactorDaily — “Instant messenger WhatsApp is readying an intuitive in-chat payments feature, ahead of a likely December launch in India… This will be the first time that WhatsApp is introducing the payments feature anywhere in the world… The Facebook-owned company has partnered with three banks – State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, three of India’s biggest banks, to launch the feature, FactorDaily has also learned.”
Canadian bank lets customers use learning AI to transact in Facebook Messenger
ATB Financial rolls out world’s first full-featured virtual banking assistant on Facebook Messenger — ATB Financial — “What makes ATB’s virtual assistant unique? Far beyond a Q&A chatbot, its sophisticated banking transaction abilities offer robust personal financial management tools tailored to fit the needs of each individual customer. Customers can seamlessly pay bills, view account balances, send Interac e-Transfers or transfer money between accounts, as well as perform cross-currency money movement all from within their Messenger platform… The virtual assistant is always learning. The more customers engage with it, the more it will be able to do.”
Facebook signs up for Visa Token Service
Facebook joins the Visa Digital Enablement Program — Visa — “Visa today announced that Facebook has joined the Visa Digital Enablement Program (VDEP), which offers a commercial framework to make it easier for partners to access Visa’s token services and other digital capabilities globally. Facebook will use the Visa Token Service to help accelerate the availability of secure, payment-enabled services through its digital properties.”
Facebook Messenger adds PayPal P2P payments
Send money to friends and family in Messenger with PayPal — PayPal — “We’re excited today to announce an expansion of our relationship with Facebook with the addition of PayPal as a funding source for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, right in Messenger… We are also introducing our first-ever PayPal customer service bot for Messenger, so PayPal customers can seamlessly receive payment and account support directly in the app.”
Citi Bot to answer customer queries via Facebook Messenger
Citi launches first Facebook Messenger banking chatbot in Singapore that provides customer account information — Citigroup — “Citi Bot will be able to address a range of common customer needs, including account-specific enquiries such as checking of account balances and transactions, providing credit card bill summaries, rewards and points balances and answering frequently asked questions… The second phase of the Citi Bot will introduce more new features such as card activation, ability to lock and unlock credit cards and transaction alerts for cards.”
OCBC Bank launches mobile keyboard to enable cashless payments directly from any mobile app
OCBC Bank launches mobile keyboard to enable cashless payments directly from any mobile app — OCBC — “The OCBC Keyboard can be used within any mobile app or browser – for instance, within Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram or Chrome – to send money instantly to anyone with a bank account in Singapore… Payments are completely secure as they are authenticated with the sender’s mobile banking credentials.”
ACCC to question Apple on Westpac chat app payments ban
ACCC to question Apple on Westpac chat app payments ban — Australian Financial Review — “Technology giant Apple’s controversial decision to order Westpac Banking Corporation to disable a mobile banking feature that let customers make payments in chat apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger has caught the attention of Australia’s competition watchdog, amid concerns it could be attempting to remove rivals to its own upcoming service.”
BBVA integrates its financial services into social and messaging networks
BBVA integrates its financial services into social and messaging networks — BBVA — “BBVA customers can now interact in Spain with the bank via social networks and instant messaging services. BBVA has developed two new tools, Chatbot and BBVA Cashup, which allow customers to access financial information via Facebook and Telegram, and also to make payments via Bizum from Whatsapp or any messaging service.”
Disconnected experiences put customer loyalty at risk
Disconnected experiences put customer loyalty at risk — MuleSoft — “Nearly half of UK consumers (48 per cent) would be happy for banks to share their banking transaction history with a trusted third-party if it gave them a more personalised banking experience… Nearly a third (30 per cent) of UK respondents would consider using Amazon, Google, Facebook or Apple for banking services if it was offered, rather than using their standard bank.”
Facebook tests in-store QR code rewards
Social media giant Facebook is testing a Rewards feature that lets users scan a personalised QR code to get discounts or bonuses when they make an in-store purchase... More
Mastercard rolls out Messenger payment bots with US retailers
Subway, FreshDirect and The Cheesecake Factory have begun rolling out payment bots for Facebook Messenger across the US, allowing their customers to secure and complete payments using Mastercard’s Masterpass digital payment platform without having to leave the instant messaging service. More
Facebook Messenger adds group payments in the US
Facebook Messenger users across the US can now send and receive money between groups of people in a Messenger conversation by selecting the payments icon and then choosing who to send or request money from using a list of conversation participants. More
Facebook Messenger adds payment prompts using artificial intelligence
Facebook Messenger users across the US are now being prompted to send and request money transfers by an artificial intelligence-based feature that detects when a payment is being discussed in a conversation on the social media platform and responds with a suggestion designed to help the user complete that payment. More
Westpac launches payments keyboard for chat apps
Customers of Australian bank Westpac will soon be able to use an innovative replacement for the default keyboard found in social messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to make P2P money transfers to friends, family and businesses as well as send cardless cash codes to recipients for ATM withdrawals. More
Facebook strengthens security with Fido-compliant authentication
Social media giant Facebook has added the Fido Alliance’s Universal Second Factor (U2F) specification to its platform to strengthen its range of two-factor authentication methods which have previously been offered through an SMS service or by a code generation feature inside the Facebook mobile app... More
Facebook gets Spanish e-money licence
Facebook has obtained a licence to manage money transfers between users in Spain, according to El Pais... More
Domino’s offers pizza orders with Google Home
Domino’s Pizza customers can now order pizza through Google Home, the voice-activated home assistant unveiled by Google in October 2016... More
Amex adds card feature for Messenger bot
American Express has unveiled an Add a Card feature to its Amex bot for Messenger, allowing eligible US Consumer and Open card members to add their card and billing information for purchases on Facebook... More
Facebook given licence to launch Messenger payments in Europe
Facebook has secured an e-money licence from the Central Bank of Ireland that will allow the company to launch charitable donations and P2P payments through its Messenger service across Europe... More