How to Pay Facebook Friends With Messenger

Easily send or receive money with Messenger's payment feature

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Updated on September 7, 2021

The Facebook Pay system offers easy, quick, and secure ways to make payments on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. Payments in Messenger is a great free way to send money or request money from friends, making it easy to divvy up a bill, split the cost of a gift, or repay someone. Here's how to set up and use Messenger pay on the desktop or the Messenger mobile app.

The Payments in Messenger service is currently available only to U.S. users. Facebook Pay through Facebook, however, is available in other countries.

Get Started With Payments in Messenger

Before you get started, make sure both you and your payment recipients are eligible to use Payments in Messenger. You all must:

Have an active Facebook account.
Live in the United States.
Be at least 18 years old.
Not be disabled from sending or receiving money on Facebook.

When you determine that you're eligible, add a bank-issued debit card or a PayPal account to your Facebook Pay settings. Then, set your preferred currency to U.S. dollars.

Facebook recommends that Payments in Messenger only be used when paying people you know and trust.

How to Add a Payment Method

To get started using Payments in Messenger, you'll need to add a debit card or PayPal account to your Facebook Pay settings. You can do this from the Facebook or Messenger mobile apps, or from Facebook Messenger on the desktop.

Add a Payment Method From the Facebook Mobile App

Tap the More icon in the bottom menu.

On an Android device, tap Settings (three horizontal lines) in the upper-right corner, and then tap Facebook Pay. Follow the instructions from step 5 on.
Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy.
Tap Settings.
Under Account, select Payments.
Tap Facebook Pay.
Choose Add Payment Method.
Your options are Add Credit or Debit Card, Add PayPal, and Add ShopPay. Choose the one you want to use, and then follow the onscreen prompts to connect your account or card.

Add a Payment Method From Facebook on the Desktop

Select the Account icon (down arrow) in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Select Settings & Privacy.
Select Settings.
From the left menu pane, scroll down and select Facebook Pay.
Under Payment Methods, select Add Credit or Debit Card or Add PayPal. Follow the prompts to add your payment methods.

Though the Facebook Pay option says Add Credit or Debit Card, you'll need to add a debit card or PayPal to make payments through Messenger.

Add a Payment Method From the Messenger App

Open Messenger and tap your profile picture in the upper-left corner.
Scroll down and tap Facebook Pay.
Under Payment Methods, tap Add Debit Card.
Enter your debit card information and tap Save. Your debit card is listed under Payment Methods.
Tap Add PayPal to link a PayPal account as a payment method.
Log in to PayPal and select a PayPal payment option. Select Continue.
Tap Agree & Continue. Your PayPal account is listed under Payment Methods.

On the Facebook Pay screen, tap Default Payment Method to set a new default payment source.

How to Send Money in Messenger

After you set up your payment method, it's easy to send a payment from a Messenger chat.

Send Money to an Individual From the Messenger App

Open Messenger and open a chat with the person you want to pay.
Tap the plus sign in the lower-left corner.
Tap the dollar sign.
Enter the amount you want to pay, and then tap Pay.
Tap Confirm Payment, or tap Change to change the payment method.
If this is the first time you've sent money in Messenger, you're prompted to create a PIN for extra security. Enter a four-digit PIN.
Confirm your PIN.
When you see a PIN Created message, tap OK.
You'll see a message that your payment has been processed.
A receipt appears on your chat thread, showing the payment amount and time. The money is sent immediately, but the recipient's bank may take a few days to make the payment available.

If you make a mistake, you can't cancel the transaction. However, you can contact the recipient and ask them to return the money. After seven days, any unclaimed money is returned to the sender.

Send Money to an Individual From Facebook on the Desktop

Select Messenger from the menu in the upper-right corner of your Facebook home page.
Open a chat with the person you want to send money to, and then tap the plus sign in the bottom menu.
Tap the dollar sign.
Enter an amount, enter a description of what the payment is for (this description is optional), then select Pay.
Enter your PIN. If this is the first time you're using Payments in Messenger, follow the prompts to create a PIN.
A payment receipt appears in your chat thread.

How to Receive Money in Messenger

If you set up a debit card or PayPal account for Facebook Pay in Messenger or Facebook, money sent to you is automatically added to your bank or PayPal account.

Open the Messenger chat to see a payment receipt.
Tap See Details.
You'll see the payment transaction details and the debit card (or PayPal account) to which the money was sent. Depending on the bank, it may take a few days to access the money.
If you haven't added a payment method, open the conversation with your money receipt and tap Add Debit Card. Follow the prompts to set up a payment method to receive and send money.

How to Request a Payment From a Friend

If someone owes you money, send a payment request through Messenger.

Request Money From the Messenger Mobile App

Open a conversation with the person you want to request money from and select plus sign > dollar sign.
Enter an amount and tap Request.
Confirm your request.
You'll receive a confirmation, and a payment request receipt is added to the chat. When the recipient gets the request, they tap it and select Pay to send a payment to you.

To cancel your payment request, tap the receipt in the chat, and then tap Cancel Request.

Request Payment From a Group

If you're divvying up the cost of something, request payment from a group chat on Messenger.com.

Select Messenger from the menu in the upper-right corner of your Facebook home page.
Open a group chat and select the plus sign in the bottom row.
Select the dollar sign.
Select the people you want to request payment from, and then select Continue.
Enter an amount to request per person, optionally add what it's for, and select Request.
You'll see your request receipt in the chat.