Get money from friends through Messenger peer-to-peer payments now!

Jasmine Birtles 9th Nov 2017 No Comments

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Yep, that’s right. You can now get money from friends through Messenger peer-to-peer payments and it’s never been easier, quicker and safer. Whatsmore, the exciting launch of P2P payments this week means you now never have to worry about feeling uncomfortable when you ask friends for your money back.

So whether you need to pay back money you owe your friends for a dinner you have shared, or if you want to give your cousin some cash to buy herself something nice, you can now share money without even having to leave your online conversation.

What does it mean to pay someone with Messenger peer-to-peer payments?
How do you do it?
Why would you use Messenger peer-to-peer payments?
Helping you manage your cashflow

What does it mean to pay someone with Messenger peer-to-peer payments?

It’s been around in the States for a while but now here in the UK you can actually get payments from friends, without bothering with the banks!

So you know how you chat to friends and family through Messenger? How handy would it be to be chatting away and exchange money while you do it? Well, that’s exactly what Messenger peer-to-peer payment functionality allows you to do. Messenger have officially changed the game, with the launch of p2p. It’s a brand new, money transferring function meaning no more awkward bill-splitting at the end of meals, and no more constant worry that you’ve entered in the wrong bank details.

So long as you have uploaded the details of your debit card and the other person you are speaking to has done the same, you can transfer money as you chat. You could tell them that their share of the group holiday you’ve just booked is £100, and within minutes have the money into your account (depending on who you bank with). No fussing with online banking, asking them for their bank details, trying to remember to pay them, hoping you’re getting the figures right as you put them into the site. You just click the green ‘payment’ button and the money is transferred. Job done.

How do you do it?

Here’s how it works:

To send money

Start a message with a friend
Tap the blue + icon and then tap the green Payments icon
Set up your payment account and then enter the amount you want to send
Tap Pay and then add your debit card
Watch the amount of money you sent rain down on the screen

To receive money

Open the conversation from your friend
Tap Add Card in the message and add your debit card to accept money for the first time

Why would you use Messenger peer-to-peer payments?

Research by Messenger has found that we are incredibly embarrassed when it comes to talking to friends about money. We really can’t bear it. But we still need to pay each other for things every now and then. Recent Messenger research has found that over half of Brits “feel awkward” when matters regarding money come up with other people.

At same time, though…

91% of Brits agree that friends should pay each other back
72% UK would like to be able to pay people back on the spot
80% UK feel guilty when not paying people back
Not being paid back is most likely to make people feel disappointed, annoyed, and /or unhappy

So there’s clearly a need for us to have a quick, convenient and safe way to pay each other when we owe, particularly as we’re really bad at asking our friends to pay us! The research has also found that

71% UK don’t feel comfortable reminding people to pay them back for things

helping you manage your cashflow

The other handy benefit of Messenger’s peer-to-peer payment functionality is that it helps you manage your cash-flow better. If you’re the one who organises the fun stuff for your friends (and there’s always one!) then you could find yourself out of pocket for quite a while as you wait for your badly-organised mates to get around to paying you. With the Messenger P2P function you can get that cash in immediately, without fuss.

Here are a few other ways you can manage your money day-to-day, even if you’re on a very tight budget:

Get as much as you can for free. Always assume that there is a way to get something for free rather than paying for it. Get into mystery shopping to have free dinners in restaurants and free drinks in bars; look on sites like Freecycle and Gumtree Free Stuff to get furniture and all sorts of homeware for nothing. Join freebies newsletters like the one on com to get free items every week.
Share and swap. Both of these are great ways of getting more for your money. Have a swap shop every now and then with friends. Share gadgets, clothes, accessories and food. Make sure you share the cost when you go to restaurants or other entertainment activities. Use the Messenger platform to pay your part of the bill then and there. It cuts down on the ‘resentment factor’ if you can pay immediately rather than making friends wait while you sort out adding their payment details.
Ignore the spenders. It’s easy to assume that all students run up huge debts – including credit card debts. That doesn’t mean you can assume the approach is OK for you too! There will always be someone who is spending more than you, accumulating bigger debts, and still going out. However, they will face the consequences eventually. The key is not to follow their example, and end up in the same deep, dark hole of debt. Make your own plans, and stick to them.
Mend, reuse, and recycle. If you do not know how to mend or darn things, look it up on YouTube as there are loads of handy instructional videos on how to darn socks, replace a fuse, sew a button on and so on. Before you throw anything away ask yourself: could this be mended, could I dye it and carry on wearing it, could it be painted and turned into something new or could it be used for something different?
Buy secondhand gadgets. Much of your budget will be blown on gadgets so be clever here. Buy refurbished and secondhand smartphones and get SIM-only deals like GiffGaff. Pick up refurbished laptops from reputable dealers – ideally checked-over by an IT professional you know – and go for music players that are not the latest iteration to get a cheap deal. Having the latest is unnecessary for 99% of us so be smart and be secondhand. When you’ve finished with them, sell them on, even if they’re broken. You will get some of your money back.
Always use discount codes. Before you get to the checkout when you’re buying online, see first if there is a current discount code for the item you’re buying. If there isn’t, consider dropping out of the checkout at the last minute. Customer Services might contact you to see why you’ve dropped out at which point you can haggle with them on the price.