CHAT AND PAY: Facebook Messenger app with secure payments service. Click to enlarge

Facebook users in the US will soon be able to make and receive secure mobile payments for free via the social network’s Messenger app. The service is rolling out “over the coming months”, Facebook says.

Payments can be made by tapping a ‘$’ icon within the app and entering the amount the user wants to send, before tapping ‘Pay’ to add a Visa or MasterCard debit card issued by a US bank.

Once the card is added, users can create a PIN to provide an extra layer of security the next time a payment is made. Users with iOS devices can also enable the Touch ID authentication service.

Recipients open the message that comes through to them and tap ‘Add Card’ to receive their payment for the first time. The money is transferred immediately.

A video shows the service in action:

Facebook says the new payments feature will be introduced over the next few months in the US across Android, iOS and desktop.

It comes less than a year after former PayPal CEO David Marcus left to take up a new role at Facebook, as vice president of messaging products, prompting speculation that he was being brought in to oversee building ecommerce and payments capabilities into the social network.