The previously named 'Facebook Pay' has now become 'Meta Pay' amid a rise in the adoption of digital payment methods. Picture: File
The previously named 'Facebook Pay' has now become 'Meta Pay' amid a rise in the adoption of digital payment methods.
Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg announced that Meta Pay would offer users an "easy way to shop, send money" across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and anywhere else that accepted Facebook Pay.
The announcement comes after Meta already announced a ‘Pay’ button for WhatsApp users in Brazil and India in May this year - an indication that Meta Pay could make its way to local users.
The re-branding of Facebook Pay is in an effort to bolster the company’s positioning to act as a wallet for the company's digital world - the Metaverse.
"But beyond the current features, we're working on something new: a wallet for the metaverse that lets you securely manage your identity, what you own, and how you pay," Zuckerberg said.
"In the future, there will be all sorts of digital items you might want to create or buy – digital clothing, art, videos, music, experiences, virtual events, and more. Proof of ownership will be important, especially if you want to take some of these items with you across different services," he added.
Stephane Kasriel, head of Meta's Commerce and FinTech division, said that just like with Facebook Pay, with Meta Pay, people will be able to add their preferred payment method and use Meta Pay where available to make payments and purchases online more safely.
"We continue to invest in security. Just as with Facebook Pay, Meta Pay encrypts and securely stores your payment card numbers, performs anti-fraud monitoring on our systems to detect unauthorised activity and notifies you if that occurs. You can also create a Meta Pay PIN or use your device's face or fingerprint recognition to secure every payment," Kasriel said.
While South Africans can currently use Facebook Pay, Meta Pay will replace this account.
Existing Facebook Pay information for users will remain the same in Meta Pay, including account details, your payment method, and settings.
How to use Meta Pay:
Meanwhile, Meta also announced that it would add several more methods for creators to make money across its platforms by expanding tests into digital collectables, like NFTs, as its builds towards its Metaverse. The company is also testing Interoperable Subscriber Groups on Facebook to allow creators to receive payments from followers on other platforms and automatically add them to subscribers-only Facebook Groups.
IOL Tech