Facebook Messenger is pushing further into personal finance with a new Split Payments feature.
“If you’ve struggled with dividing up (and getting paid back for) group dinners, shared household expenses or even the monthly rent,” Facebook says in a blog post, “it’s about to get easier.” All you’ll have to do is use Messenger to request money from your friends and family!
The company says the Split Payments feature, which will debut next week in the US, can be accessed via the Payments Hub or by clicking a “Get Started” button within a group chat. (The company hasn’t said if or when the feature is expected to roll out to international users.)
“From there, you can split a bill evenly or modify the contribution amount for each individual — with or without yourself included,” it says. “After entering a personalized message and confirming your Facebook Pay details, your request will be sent and viewable in your group chat thread.”
This isn’t Messenger’s first foray into money transfers: It’s allowed users in the US to send money to each other since 2015, and in June, it added support for QR codes and payments links using Facebook Pay. Split Payments simply makes it easier to request money via the app.
