PicomoPay, MoneyGram Hoping to Capitalize on Facebook’s Popularity (April 29, 2014)
Just weeks after a report surfaced that Facebook was seeking an e-money license in Europe to boost its international remittance business, PicomoPay, a social networking payments platform, announced a deal with MoneyGram to enable U.S. Facebook users to send money transfers to more than 336,000 MoneyGram agent locations in more than 200 countries.
PicomoPay’s platform is integrated into the social network, enabling consumers to conduct P2P payments funded by their PicomoPay Digital Wallets, according to yesterday’s announcement. To send money through Facebook, consumers must create a PicomoPay account using a three-step process. The service is still in beta and by invitation only, but the company expects to launch it next month. PicomoPay also enables Facebook users to buy and send virtual gift cards.
PicomoPay and MoneyGram aren’t the only ones tapping Facebook for P2P services. Royal Bank of Canada last February launched a similar service and in September, India’s ICICI Bank launched an app that enables its customers to conduct a variety of transactions, including sending money to a friend, via the social media site.
Integration with Facebook aside, P2P has seen a flurry of recent activity. Just yesterday, U.S. Bank, through its partnership with Fiserv Inc., began offering an instant-payment P2P option for its existing Popmoney service. Earlier this month, Walmart moved further into financial services with its Walmart-2-Walmart Money Transfer Service, enabling customers to transfer money from one store to another at more than 4,000 U.S. Walmart locations.
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