Facebook 's Messenger app will soon let you send your friends money . Services including PayPal , its Venmo unit and the disappearing-photo app Snapchat already let you beam money to friends and family using smartphones linked to bank accounts or credit cards . Now Facebook has joined the fray , adding payments to its Messenger service . Scroll down for video . Facebook 's `` like '' symbol at the entrance to the company 's campus in Menlo Park , Calif. Facebook users in the U.S. will soon be able to send their friends money using the social network 's Messenger app , the company announced today . To send money , Messenger users can tap a new `` $ '' icon that 's next to the buttons that let you send photos , stickers or a thumbs up sign . Then , enter the amount you want to send , tap `` pay '' on the top right corner and enter your debit card number . To receive money for the first time , enter the card number . Once you add your card number , you can create a pin code that you will need to enter the next time you want to send money . On Apple devices that have Touch ID , you can enable this instead and authorize transactions using your fingerprint . 'Today we ’ re adding a new feature in Messenger that gives people a more convenient and secure way to send or receive money between friends , ' the firm said in a blog post . 'This feature will be rolling out over the coming months in the US , and it ’ s easy and free . ' Facebook 's entry , announced Tuesday , is free , works with debit cards and is available on Apple and Android mobile devices and on desktop computers . The world 's largest social network will process the payments and emphasized the service 's security features . Facebook will likely expand internationally after the service becomes available to U.S. users over the coming months . To send money , Messenger users can tap a new `` $ '' icon that 's next to the buttons that let you send photos , stickers or a thumbs up sign . Then , enter the amount you want to send , tap `` pay '' on the top right corner and enter your debit card number . To receive money for the first time , enter the card number . Once you add your card number , you can create a pin code that you will need to enter the next time you want to send money . On Apple devices that have Touch ID , you can enable this instead and authorize transactions using your fingerprint . To help allay concerns about security , Facebook noted that it handles more than a million payments transactions on its site every day for its advertisers and game players . Its payments systems are stored separately from other parts of the Facebook network and receive additional monitoring and control , the company said in a blog post Tuesday . ' A dependable and trusted payments processor for game players and advertisers since 2007 , Facebook processes more than one million transactions daily on the site and also handles all the payments processed on Messenger . 'Incorporating security best practices into our payments business has always been a top priority . 'We use secure systems that encrypt the connection '
Google already lets user send money via Messenger , Snapchat via its app and PayPal through its online service . Messenger users can tap a new `` $ '' icon in the mobile and desktop apps .