Not too long ago, Meta released its own digital payment method called Facebook Pay. But how does Facebook Pay work? In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know to get started with Facebook Payment: Availability, how payments work and, most importantly, how to receive money on Facebook Pay.
What is Facebook Pay?
Facebook Pay is an e-payment tool that powers digital transactions over all the Meta products: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. It can be used for peer-to-peer or business transactions.
Facebook Pay: A Brief Introduction
Following the success of digital payment methods, Facebook — now rebranded to Meta— launched Facebook Pay in 2019. To align with the rebrand, Facebook Pay is also now called Meta Pay.
Facebook Pay doesn’t store money; it acts more like an intermediary. For that reason, users must link a payment method such as a debit card, credit card or PayPal to send and receive money.
While this feature is available in over 100 countries, its scope of use and the Meta channels it supports differ in every country. As a digital payment method, it has a number of benefits for businesses, which we will explain next.
Why Use Facebook Pay
Meta already has a massive set of users across all its platforms — a total of 3.71 billion monthly active users worldwide, meaning that you’ll open the door to more potential customers. And with the increasing popularity of digital payments, Facebook Pay is an attractive option for tech-savvy customers.
Unlike other digital payment methods, Facebook Pay reduces the number of steps customers need to take to make a purchase when using any Meta product. Customers initiate purchases on Facebook or Instagram without being redirected to external sites.
Plus, they can use their stored credentials to speed up the checkout process. User-friendly payment methods like this one help businesses boost conversion rates and often make impulse purchases easier.
Is Facebook Pay safe? Meta uses anti-fraud technology to detect suspicious activities and will notify you of anything unusual. Plus, Meta encrypts payment card and bank account information and gives the option to use PIN and biometrics to authorize payments.
Lastly, this feature is free to set up and use for businesses and consumers. However, you may incur fees from PayPal (if that’s your linked payment method) and from the Meta Commerce Manager. We’ll get into more details later in this article.
Despite all the benefits, businesses should know that cross-border transactions are not supported at the moment. Besides, some of the most important Facebook Payment applications are available in just a few countries. We’ll discuss that in the next section.
Where to Use Facebook Pay
Facebook Pay interacts with all the Meta messaging channels and social networks: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.
In this section, we’ll guide you through all the multiple possibilities that Facebook Pay has to offer.
Facebook Payment: In-app Checkout on Facebook Shop and Instagram Shop
If you have a Facebook or Instagram Shop, customers can make purchases directly in the app using Facebook Payment. Note that this is only available in the US. Of course, you’ll need to first set up a Facebook or Instagram Shop on the Meta Commerce Manager.
Be aware that Meta charges Commerce Manager users a selling fee for every checkout on Facebook or Instagram Shops. For every sale above $8, there is a 5% fee. For sales below $8, there is a $0.40 fee.
Facebook Payment: Messenger Transactions
In the US and Thailand, Facebook Messenger users can easily transfer money to their contacts or request payments from them. Sending or requesting money is similar to sharing images or videos and can be initiated in a conversation thread.
While this feature was designed with peer-to-peer transactions in mind, it can also be used by businesses that don’t handle a high volume of daily purchases. On Facebook Messenger, the Facebook Pay limit per month for total transactions is $9,999. This includes sending and receiving money.
For instance, this is a handy tool for hospitality businesses that require reservation deposits or upfront payments, as customers can transfer the money after asking about availability. Businesses can also view the receipt in the conversation thread, creating a record for both parties.
Once again, this is only possible if both the business and the customer reside in the same country and have access to the feature in the Facebook Messenger app. Later in this article, we’ll show you step-by-step how to request payments from your customers via Facebook Messenger.
Facebook Payment: Donate to Fundraisers
Meta gives Facebook and Instagram users tools to raise funds for non-profit organizations via Facebook Payment in supported countries.
Across the Facebook or Instagram apps, there are several ways to pay through Facebook to donate to Meta Fundraisers: Facebook Pages with Donate button, Facebook Live with Donate button, Instagram Stories with a Donation sticker, Instagram Fundraiser in Reels, etc.
Meta doesn’t charge any fees per transaction, meaning that the organizations will receive the full amount that users donate.
Facebook Payment: In-app Purchases
Facebook Payment is also a way to pay for various entertainment on Facebook, including games, in-game purchases, and exclusive content on Facebook Watch. Depending on users’ location, the availability of the entertainment options will vary.
Following other successful live stream platforms like Twitch or Youtube, Facebook has also created a system of subscriptions and donations via Facebook Payment to support content creators.
Facebook Payment: WhatsApp Pay Transactions
In recent years, Meta has been testing WhatsApp Pay, an in-app payment system for WhatsApp users in Brazil and India. Due to WhatsApp’s popularity in those countries, Meta wants to give WhatsApp users a way to send and receive money directly without leaving the app.
WhatsApp Pay is enabled by Facebook Pay and designed to work in conjunction with other WhatsApp e-shopping tools such as the Business Directory, Catalogs and Shopping Cart.
Facebook Payment: Integration with Shopify
Business owners can add a button in their Shopify stores to give visitors the option to check out using Facebook Payment. This option is only available to online stores located in the US.
You may be surprised to learn that businesses don't need to have a Facebook account to add a Meta Pay button to their Shopify store.
Now you are familiar with the different uses of Facebook Payment. In the next section, we’ll guide you through everything you need to do to use this feature as a payment method for your business.
How To Use Facebook Pay
To use this feature for business, there are three things you should be familiar with:
- How to set up Facebook Pay
- How to remove a payment method from Facebook Pay
- How to initiate or request a Facebook Payment
Let’s start by explaining how to set up Facebook Pay step by step.
How to Set Up Facebook Pay
Setting up Facebook Payment is easy, although the process varies across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. In this section, we’ll show you how to set it up on the Facebook mobile app to give you an idea of what the process looks like.
- Tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Facebook Pay.
- Add a payment method and choose between Debit/credit card or PayPal.
- Enter your debit/credit or PayPal details and save them.
Once your payment method is linked, it will be ready to use on your next transaction. But what if a business wants to link more than a single payment method?
How to Remove a Facebook Payment Method
Meta allows businesses to add more than one payment method and remove existing payment methods. This is how to edit your payment methods on the Meta Commerce Manager.
- Tap your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Facebook Pay.
- Register an additional payment method by clicking on Add payment method.
- Remove a payment method by tapping on it and selecting Remove Card or Remove Account accordingly.
Once you register an additional card or PayPal account, it will be added to your list of payment methods. You can select from the list your default payment method.
There’s one important question left — how can customers initiate payments using Facebook Payment? The answer is not that simple, but we’ll break it down for you in the following section.
How to Request or Initiate a Facebook Payment
Businesses have four options when it comes to Facebook Pay transactions.
- Request or initiate a Facebook payment via WhatsApp
- Request or initiate a Facebook payment via Facebook Messenger
- Enable seamless payments on Facebook or Instagram Shop
- Use Facebook Pay as a checkout method in a Shopify store
Request or Initiate a Facebook Payment via WhatsApp
If you are in Brazil or India and your WhatsApp app is updated to the latest version, you’ll probably have access to WhatsApp 1:1 transactions. In our detailed guide, we explain how to set up WhatsApp Pay and how to initiate a transaction.
Request or Initiate a Facebook Payment via Facebook Messenger
If you don’t have checkout enabled on Facebook or Instagram, this is how to accept Facebook Pay transactions over Facebook Messenger.
- Open your Messenger app > Start a chat with a contact you want to request money from.
- Tap $ from the menu > Enter the amount and tap Request.
This process doesn't change much for customers who want to initiate a payment. As a customer, this is how to pay someone on Facebook Messenger:
- Open your Messenger app > Start a chat with a business you want to send money to.
- Tap $ from the menu > Enter the amount and tap Pay.
Once you confirm the payment, the transaction will be recorded in the conversation thread.
Enable Payments on Facebook Shop or Instagram Shop
First of all, ensure you have read the checkout methods and eligibility requirements for Shops on Facebook and Instagram. If your business is eligible, enable direct checkouts on Facebook and Instagram Shops by following these steps.
- Go to the Facebook Commerce Manager and select your shop.
- Click Settings > Checkout method.
- Find the checkout method you want to update and click the settings icon.
- Choose Facebook Pay and click Change in the top-right.
- Follow the steps to complete your change. If you’re changing your checkout method to Checkout on Facebook and Instagram, provide your shipping, customer service and payout preferences information.
Once done, your customers will be able to find you on Facebook and Instagram Shops and buy your products without leaving the platform.
Use Facebook Pay as a Checkout Method in your Shopify Store
With a Facebook Payment button, customers who buy from your Shopify store have an accelerated checkout method. To include this button on your Shopify website, you’ll need to enable Shopify Payments and your store needs to be located in the US.
On their end, your customers need to use an IP address based in the US, and one of the following browsers: Safari or Chrome for desktop, Safari for iOS or Chrome for Android. To enable the Facebook Payment button, open your Shopify admin on your desktop and follow these steps.
1. Click Settings > Payments > Manage.
2. Select Meta Pay in the Wallets section and click Save.
We’ve covered all the foundations and how-tos. But if you’re still wondering whether Facebook Payment is for you, the section below can help you make up your mind.
Should You Use Facebook Pay?
At the moment, only businesses in the US have full access to what Facebook Pay has to offer. If your business is located there, you should give it a try, as Facebook is extremely popular in the country.
Otherwise, you should probably wait until Meta rolls out in-app payments for Facebook and Instagram in your country, as that’s the main appeal of using this feature for business.
Facebook Pay is also still in its relative infancy, compared to more established and popular payment methods like WeChat Pay in China and LINE Pay in Japan. Only time will tell if it will become a widely popular digital payment method.
If you frequently do business over Facebook Messenger and other messaging apps, consider using respond.io. Get started for free and connect Facebook Messenger to market, sell and support with the leading AI-powered conversation management software!
Further Reading
Did you find this reading interesting? Then check out the following articles:
- Welcome Message for Facebook Page: A How-To Guide
- Facebook Messenger Push Notifications: A How-To Guide
- Facebook Messenger Ads: A How-To Guide
