Facebook (META) founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced the company’s new payments service,  Meta Pay. However, it’s not a new product but a renaming of Facebook Pay. This change of name is the first step towards the realization of a digital wallet for the metaverse

All features and customer experiences you are familiar with on Facebook Pay while transacting on platforms such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Whatsapp will remain as you know. You will still be able to:

• Shop (make payments)
• Donate 
• Send and receive cash

The name change will only affect users in the USA first and roll to the rest of the world over time. No timeline has been given for this yet.

Meta Pay in the Metaverse

Zuckerberg’s vision is to develop a digital wallet that manages the owner’s identity and all their digital properties.

According to Zuckerberg, the future will be about owning digital properties. People will either create or buy them. The challenge will be proof of ownership if one needs to move from one digital service to another. 

Meta Pay will help deal with these kinds of issues. This kind of flexibility this payment option brings to the table will offer users a better experience while giving creators more opportunities.

Meta believes that sending and receiving money should be fast, simple, and cheap,  like sending a chat to anyone worldwide. Meta Pay will give users a reliable and convenient way to pay for goods and services anywhere in the world, including the metaverse.

How Will Meta Pay Affect Fintech?

According to Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of Fintech, Meta has not yet fully figured out what a single wallet experience should look like. However, he believes identifying users and their properties while in the different parts of the metaverse is critical.

The Meta will continue to upgrade Meta Pay to fit into the Metaverse space. It is guided by its mission to empower everyone everywhere to access the world’s financial system to speed up financial inclusion and economic empowerment.

Kasriel believes it’s not too early for companies to design products and infrastructure with the metaverse in mind since that will help facilitate innovation and offer more access and cost savings.  

FAQs

• What is Meta Pay?

META Pay is a universal wallet that allows users on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp to make payments in the physical, online, or virtual (Metaverse) world. With this payment option, you can pay for goods and services, send money, and receive payments from others. It’s a game-changer for how we use these social platforms, and it has the potential to revolutionize online payments.

• How does META Pay Work?

Facebook’s new META system allows users to send and receive money through the Facebook Messenger app. 

To use the payment service, you must first connect your bank account or debit card to your Messenger account. Once you’ve connected it, your balance will show up in the top left corner of your chat window. You can then attach a dollar amount when sending a message so that recipients know how much they’ll receive (you can also simply select Send Money from a drop-down menu). 

If someone sends you money, it will automatically be deposited into your account. You can transfer money out by transferring it to your debit card or bank account.

• How will META Pay impact users directly?

Facebook’s new Meta Pay system will allow users to send and receive money directly through the messaging system. That will make sending money to friends and family easy and convenient and allow transactions across the physical and virtual worlds to be carried out.

 In addition, it will also work with existing payment systems, such as PayPal. That will make it easier for users to send money to anyone, regardless of whether or not they have a Facebook account.

Bottomline

Since 2009, Meta has offered a platform for its users to make payments across 160 countries and 55 currencies. These payments have come in various forms, including person to person, business to business, and consumer to business.

Introducing META pay could be a big step forward for the company and could potentially make Meta a significant player in the online payments space. However, there are some concerns about how this will affect privacy and security. Only time will tell if Meta Pay will be a success or not.