Will message payments help popularize mobile payment?

[Photo: from VCG]

Facebook has chosen the UK as the first country outside the US to get its Messenger payments service. Later on Monday, local users will be able to send each other money in a message.

The service was launched in the US in 2015. The social network says it has been widely used to split restaurant bills, pay babysitters and simply send gifts. It says most users send less than $50 (£38).

The company says the service is coming to the UK because it has so many "mobile-savvy consumers".

Facebook is collaborating with all the major banks and credit card firms to launch Messenger payments, which will require both the sender and recipient of money to register their payment cards.

But three years ago, UK banks launched their own instant payments service - Paym - which has not made a huge impact on the way the British people pay. So, why should this be any different?

Facebook claims Messenger payments will catch on because "people are looking for simplicity and emotion".

[The audio clip is from Studio+, produced by CRI.]