Facebook Says It Will Start Rolling Out Facebook Pay To Online Retailers In August

Social media giant Facebook is all set to extend its payment system to all online retailers in August this year, the company announced earlier this week. Facebook said that shoppers will eventually see another payment option listed next to the usual payment methods, now that Facebook Pay will expand beyond the company’s own platforms. Not long after credit card companies dropped out of its Libra cryptocurrency project, Facebook launched its payments system for use across the main site, as well as WhatsApp and Instagram. Now, just like Google’s stored cards, PayPal integrations, Amazon Pay, and others, Facebook Pay is opening itself up for use in transactions with participating retailers. Shopify merchants are first in line to add the system on their sites, with others to follow after it launches in August.

Of course, this isn’t just an easier way for retailers to get paid with cards customers have already stored in their Facebook profiles, it’s also a way to get even more data into Facebook. The announcement points to the privacy page for Facebook Pay states that as with previous payment options on Facebook’s own apps, when users make payments with Facebook Pay, it will collect information about the purchase such as the payment method, transaction date, billing, shipping, and contact details. Facebook says that it design Facebook Pay to securely store and encrypt users’ card and bank account numbers. Further, the company said that as with its other products, the actions users take with Facebook Pay can be used for purposes such as to deliver more relevant content and ads, to provide customer support and to promote safety and integrity.