Facebook Messenger is reportedly taking on Apple Pay and Samsung Pay

Facebook may be looking to get into the digital wallet game, according to source code uncovered by The Information. Some of the commands discovered in the latest version of Facebook’s Messenger app include “pay in person,” “pay directly in Messenger when you pick up the item,” and “no cash needed.” The company declined to comment, making it presently unclear whether the features will ever actually see the light of day. If true, the social network giant may be lining up to compete against companies like Apple, PayPal, Google, and Samsung, who have been in this space since as early as 2011.

The news appears to counter statements made to investors by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in late January. “We don’t view ourselves as a payments business, that’s not the type of company that we are,” Zuckerberg said on an earnings call. “We’ll partner with everyone who does payments,” he added, citing Apple Pay as one of the players in the space whose innovations appeal to him and the company. At the time, it seemed Facebook was positioning itself for an e-commerce push, to be aided by other digital wallets. The same source code mentioned above reveals that an emphasis on e-commerce may still be the plan, with features that would allow users to view “suggested businesses” — presumably based on likes and their account preferences.

[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1908998,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"bots,business,commerce,mobile,","session":"D"}']

This wouldn’t be the first time Facebook has dabbled in payments, however. In March 2015, Facebook Messenger rolled out its first foray into the payments market by allowing friend-to-friend transaction, similar to what PayPal or Venmo offer. However, unlike the latter, Facebook’s app did not allow users to make credit cards as payments, due to the processing fees involved.

For any company looking to get into mobile payments space, the list of obstacles is substantial. For example, Facebook would need cooperation from financial institutions to create the appropriate infrastructure that can handle these transactions. When Apple Pay first launched it worked with banks to incorporate security standards. Tim Sloane of The n>genuity Journal wrote that Apple set the bar so high with their implementation of Apple Pay that it creates challenges in “gathering support and endorsement across the payments value chain.”

Digital Wallet	Initial Release
Apple Pay	October 20, 2014
Google Wallet	May 26, 2011
Samsung Pay	September 25, 2015

Mobile payments are expected to reach $142 billion in volume by the year 2019, according to research firm Forrester. This would represent a 184% growth from where this figure was in late 2014. The key component of this growth hinges on consumer acceptance. While smartphone users may have access to mobile payments such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and perhaps soon Facebook Messenger, it doesn’t mean they are using it. Time’s Money Magazine reported that just 9% of consumers use mobile payments when they are available, while 42% have never used them to make a single purchase.

Interest among merchants is growing. After surveying point-of-sale terminal providers, the investment banking company Piper Jaffray, found that 44% of their clients were interested in implementing mobile payments or already had them. The same study found evidence for Sloane’s earlier observation. Out of those merchants who supported mobile wallets, a majority (67%) preferred Apple Pay to the other leading providers. Should Facebook enter the market, an issue they would face is the popularity of Apple Pay.

Even if Facebook moves forward with these plans, it may take some time before such a feature is available to all cardholders. It took a little over a year for Discover Financial, one of the largest credit card issuers in the country, to sign onboard with Apple Pay.

Whether or not Facebook’s plans are set in motion, one thing remains certain. With the growing interest in digital wallets, on both a business and consumer level, individuals are not being left with a shortage of options.

This post first appeared on ValuePenguin.