Facebook's Messenger app will soon help you to send money to your friends, the latest in the field of services aimed at an increasingly wireless and cashless generation. Facebook's entry to this field is announced on March 17, is free and works with debit cards and is available on Apple and Android mobile devices and on desktop computers. Facebook will likely expand internationally after the service becomes available to US users over the coming months.

Messenger users can tap a new "$" icon that's next to the buttons that let you send photos, stickers or a thumps 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.

Facebook noted that it handles more than a million payments transactions on its site every day for its advertisers and game players. Payment systems are stored separately from other parts of the Facebook network and receive additional monitoring and control. The world's largest social network will process the payments and emphasized the service's security features.

By Premji