Facebook is reportedly looking to get back into the mobile payments game by launching a new payments product that would make mobile checkouts much easier.
According to AllThingsD, this new product would allow mobile shoppers to checkout using their Facebook account, without having provide their credit card information to the retailer. Of course users still need to input their financial info into their Facebook account. The company will start testing this new feature on a very small scale.
While the product was viewed by some as a possible alternative to Paypal both Facebook and Paypal were quick to reiterate that they have a very fruitful working relationship and that neither company wants to change that. Facebook added that their new product is not designed to be a payment processing service, but rather to offer a simple and secure alternative to checkouts.
Though relatively few people have their credit card info tied to their Facebook account, a massive roll-out of the new service might put the social company in a very strong position in this market. They would have even more access to users’ shopping habits and preferences which would be a great incentive for advertisers.
Source: AllThingsD | Image via Facebook