New for Meta that launches the Split Payments function on Messenger chats, for now only in the United States.
It is the possibility to divide, among the participants of a conversation, the payments for something that has been purchased in a group or simply the bill for an evening together at the restaurant.
In addition to this update, Meta has introduced the extension of the voice message limit, in the US, from 1 minute to 30 minutes.
Sending money via Messenger was active in the United States since late 2019 and has improved over time to integrate third-party services, such as PayPal.
However, there was no opportunity to receive sums within the chat groups, assigning each one the amount due.
To use Split Payments, users need to click the "Get Started" button in a group chat or the payments tab in Messenger.
From there, they will be able to divide a total sum evenly or change the amount of the contribution for each one.
You can also enter a personalized message for each user, which is useful for detailing the request for money per single item.
The service is based on Facebook Pay, the payment platform launched by the social network in November 2019.
Meta points out that friends who don't use Pay can add their account details in minutes, so they can send and receive money.
“If you've struggled to split (and get reimbursed) group dinners, expenses or even monthly rent, Split Payments will make it easier,” she reads on the company's blog.
In addition to the extension from 1 to 30 minutes for audio, Messenger also integrates new voice message recording controls, offering the ability to pause, preview, delete or continue recording a voice before sending it.
A feature very similar to the one recently introduced on WhatsApp.