Facebook Secures EU Path to Payments in Messenger

Facebook has recently secured an e-money license from the Central Bank of Ireland, clearing the company to launch Messenger-based payments in Europe. The filing, originally reported by TechCrunch, will allow Facebook to expand payments in Messenger throughout the 27 countries of the European Union, thanks to a “passporting” agreement among EU member states.

Facebook debuted P-2-P payments in Messenger in the United States during March of 2015. The function, made possible through partnerships with ETA member-companies PayPal, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — among others — allows users to connect a credit card to their Facebook account to send or receive payments. In the U.S., payments can also be made to some 3,000 Facebook chat-bots created by third-party developers. Initially, the European launch will remain P-2-P only, with the exception of allowing for donations to approved European Economic Area charities.

Read more about Messenger Payments from Facebook.