Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Transformation
    Operations
    Data
    Experience
    Performance
    Management
    Special Reports
    All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech
    Mission
    Team
    Newsletter
    MarTech Live
    Search Engine Land
    Third Door Media
SUBSCRIBE

Processing...Please wait.

Performance

Report: Facebook Messenger might become your new mobile wallet

Facebook plans to let people buy products in physical stores using Messenger, according to a report by The Information.

Tim Peterson on March 28, 2016 at 5:44 pm

facebook-messenger-logo2-1920

For the past year, Facebook has been trying to make Facebook Messenger way more than a messaging app. It’s begun letting businesses send receipts and shipping notifications, brands operate chat bots and people send money to one another. Apparently, Facebook plans to also make Messenger a way for people to buy things in brick-and-mortar stores.

According to a report published by The Information on Monday, the source code for Facebook Messenger’s app “includes commands allowing a user to ‘pay in person’ or ‘pay directly in Messenger when you pick up the item’ with ‘no cash needed.’” In other words, Facebook Messenger wants to become the new PayPal.

The idea of Facebook Messenger doubling as a digital wallet may not be so surprising, considering the person running Messenger, David Marcus, had served as PayPal’s president before Facebook poached him in June 2014.

Marcus spent three years at the pioneering digital payments company, having joined in 2011 as VP and general manager of mobile. It just so happens that 2011 was when the mobile wallet space was starting to become a thing. That year, Google introduced Google Wallet, and PayPal constructed a showroom in New York City called PayPal Shopping Showcase that demoed how the payment service’s mobile app could be used to — ahem — pay in person and pay through the app when picking up an item with no cash needed.

But Messenger wants to be more than a messaging app and mobile wallet. The Information also reported that the service’s source code includes language around being able to sync calendars to Messenger and share parts of articles through the app. Marketing Land had previously reported that Facebook plans to open up Messenger as a distribution channel for publishers and will announce the move at its annual developer conference, F8, in April.

About The Author

Tim Peterson
Tim Peterson, Third Door Media's Social Media Reporter, has been covering the digital marketing industry since 2011. He has reported for Advertising Age, Adweek and Direct Marketing News. A born-and-raised Angeleno who graduated from New York University, he currently lives in Los Angeles. He has broken stories on Snapchat's ad plans, Hulu founding CEO Jason Kilar's attempt to take on YouTube and the assemblage of Amazon's ad-tech stack; analyzed YouTube's programming strategy, Facebook's ad-tech ambitions and ad blocking's rise; and documented digital video's biggest annual event VidCon, BuzzFeed's branded video production process and Snapchat Discover's ad load six months after launch. He has also developed tools to monitor brands' early adoption of live-streaming apps, compare Yahoo's and Google's search designs and examine the NFL's YouTube and Facebook video strategies.

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

September 14-15, 2021: MarTech

On-Demand: MarTech (spring 2021)

On-Demand: MarTech (fall 2020)

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

December 14, 2021: SMX Build

On-Demand: SMX


Learn More About Our SMX Events

Webinars

Killer Paid Search Tactics That Every Marketer Needs to Know

Improve Your Google Ranking With These 4 Local SEO Tips Even Experts Miss

Level Up Your Customer Experience By Building a Winning Martech Stack

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Account-Based Marketing Tools: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Customer Journey Analytics Tools: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Marketing Work Management Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Headless & Hybrid CMS Platforms

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

This Time It’s Personal: The Enterprise Guide to Personalization at Scale

When the Third-Party Cookie Party is Over

Customer Data Platform RFP template

Artificial Intelligence and Customer Analytics Guide for Marketers

How to Maximize Your SEO Return On Investment

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.