Facebook Messenger now lets you pay pals with PayPal

Facebook's payments get a boost ahead of Apple's peer-to-peer Apple Pay.

Scott Stein Editor at Large

I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.

Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials

Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps

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Scott Stein

Oct. 20, 2017 8:48 a.m. PT

screen-shot-2017-10-20-at-11-42-44-am — Paypal

Facebook Messenger can make payments to friends, and has already worked with Paypal. But it can now make payments to people using Paypal using peer-to-peer, too (in the US, for now). The service is live on iOS, and is coming to Android soon. The service connects its 2.5 million customers in the US to make the same payments to friends that Facebook Messenger already enabled via chat previously.

A new Paypal Facebook Messenger bot is also new, handling account information in-app without having to leave Messenger.

The addition of PayPal comes ahead of Apple's own peer-to-peer version of Apple Pay, which is due to launch sometime this fall.

Paypal recently expanded the ability to pay with Venmo to 2 million retailers. Facebook Messenger first launched peer-to-peer payments back in 2015.

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