Facebook has announced a new service that will be available for the Messenger app
Facebook is making its first official entry into the mobile payments space. The social media company has announced that it will soon allow users of its Messenger application to send and receive money. The service will be free, but will see a limited initial launch in some parts of the United States. The launch will be taking place over the next few months, eventually be made available to all Messenger users in the country.
New service will allow users to send and receive money over Messenger
Facebook has partnered with Visa and MasterCard in order to make the service available. Those with Visa or MasterCard cards, as well as those with debit cards from a U.S. bank, will be able to transfer money through the new service. The service will be accessed through a “$” icon that will be added to the Messenger app in the near future. Once this icon is tapped, users will be able to note the amount of money they can send to their friends. All those using the service will have to link their financial information to the Messenger app.
Consumer information will be stored in a secure environment
For security purposes, users will have to use a PIN number to authorize money transfers. The company notes that all financial information will be kept in a secure environment that is entirely separate from other parts of Facebook. The service will also be monitored by fraud prevention specialists, who will analyze the service to determine whether or not suspicious activity is present among users.
Facebook will face competition from other companies entering the mobile payments space
Facebook has been showing strong interest in mobile payments for some time. The company sees a great deal of promise in this sector, largely due to the number of consumers that spend money online over their mobile devices. Facebook will be competing with other companies involves in mobile payments, such as PayPal, and may soon be competing with Twitter and other social media platforms that have recently entered the space.
AT&T is hoping that by working with are businesses, universities and tech organizations, it will be possible.
AT&T has now partnered up with Tech Valley universities, organizations, and businesses in its launch of the “AT&T Tech Valley Civic App Challenge”, in which it is seeking to pair up with innovative thinkers and creators that can come up with mobile apps that will be able to address and overcome local issues – particularly those on a social and civic level.
The challenge will continue for two months and it will end with the awarding of a total of $18,000 in cash prizes.
The goal is to encourage designers, thinkers, developers, artists, and businesspeople to come up with ways to “Solve Local” through the creation and development of innovative mobile apps. Those applications need to help with societal and civic issues that are being faced by people in the greater Tech Valley community. Among the partners in this challenge are: the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; the University at Albany; Center for Economic Growth affiliate, TechConnex; Tech Valley Mobile Developers Network; New York BizLab; Hudson Valley Tech Meetup; Saratoga TechOUT; Hack Upstate, Beahive; and Accelerate 518.
The hope is that the mobile apps that will result will inform citizens and engage them with their governments.
In this way, it could help to illustrate exactly how mobile applications and technologies can make a difference, and will accelerate the development of a new wave of tech jobs and investments as companies seek to get on the bandwagon once the effectiveness of this technology has been shown.
According to the AT&T New York president, Marissa Shorenstein, “AT&T’s commitment to technology innovation in New York grows out of our company’s multi-billion dollar nationwide investment in the mobile communications network of the future.” She also added that by providing both students and career technologists with encouragement within the region for the exploration of smartphone software development, they are also “spotlighting the enormous demand for developers and engineers needed to create the software that will drive our mobile economy.”
The mobile apps challenge was launched in front of over 200 entrepreneurs and technologists from the region and will continue until May 1.
