Facebook Launching P2P Payments In Europe

Facebook paymentsFacebook is ‘weeks away’ from getting regulatory approval in Ireland to launch P2P payments in Europe, according to the Financial Times.

The company already processes transactions for both physical and virtual goods via Facebook Payments. Its partnered with all of the UKs mobile operators to enable direct-to-carrier billing for in-app purchases, along with offering credit and debit cards payments and PayPal integration.

The company processed $2.1bn (£1.3bn) worth of transactions last year alone, of which it takes a 30 per cent cut, representing around 10 per cent of its global revenues. The Financial Times says that London-based fintech startups TransferWise, Moni Technologies and Azimo have already been approached to become involved, but the company has existing money-transfer relationships with eBays Zong and Boku. Both of these work via SMS, which could be crucial to tapping in to mobile-first audiences.

Facebook will be pitching itself against the likes of Vodafone, owner of mPesa, Google and Chinas Tencent in the great global race to become the OTT mobile money network of choice.