Facebook Messenger gets payment facility

World's No 1 social network, Facebook has now added payment facility to its Messenger app. It will allow businesses to sell products and services directly to customers in Messenger. Customers can check out with a few easy clicks, without ever leaving the Messenger app.

Messages with payments - as well as payments through the enhanced Messenger mobile web view - will be available for some developers as a closed beta. Later on Facebook promises to roll out this capability more broadly.

David Marcus, head at Facebook Messenger, told Tech Crunch that for payments in Messenger, Facebook has joined hands with players like Visa, MasterCard, Paypal, Braintee, Stripe and American Express.

Meanwhile, Facebook Messenger version 1.2 has been released that offers better way to share messages. "People can share individual messages with their friends by simply clicking on a share icon attached to a message bubble. This will be great for sharing products or various options with friends and asking for their opinion. Also they can share the bots that they love directly. Friends will receive a message with the bot name, icon and button that allows them to directly start a thread with that particular bot," Facebook said in a blog post.

"The updated Platform now includes a welcome screen that provides people with more information about the experience ahead. Businesses can customize their introductory text and people will now have more context to begin their interaction," the blog further added.