Facebook partnered with U.K.-based money transfer platform TransferWise to let users send money through Facebook’s Messenger application. TransferWise sees this as an opportunity to tap into a new audience, while Facebook considers it an opportunity to monetize and take advantage of its feature-rich messaging application.
As of publishing, TransferWise’s Facebook service is only available to the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, Australia, and Canada. Last Tuesday, Messenger users were able to exchange foreign currencies through the TransferWise bot integrated into the app. Their service also powers international payments for several global businesses and European banks.
The move is in line with the money transfer firm’s goal to provide their services to people “wherever they are on the internet.” TransferWise’s head of global partnerships, Scott Miller, announced that the bot will benefit companies worldwide, especially the ones that exchange currencies on a regular basis.
Miller also told CNBC that they expect companies that use banks to get on board with the real-time money transfer capability of the Messenger App.
“Social media, and messaging apps in particular, is already used for sharing pictures and videos. The next natural thing to do is to send money home,” said Miller. The company is aware that changes will be made based on feedback from clients and they are confident that they can easily switch their direction towards other markets, if necessary.
Facebook has been on a roll this year, with their new product developments and possible shift in ad revenue generation. The partnership with TransferWise seems to be another step towards a positive output in the next quarter’s earnings report.
