Facebook Pay provides a simple way to transfer money and pay for purchases made on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. We'll walk you through how to set up Facebook Pay.
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Anyone can access Facebook Pay who uses Facebook — and almost 3 billion of us do. It’s an easy way to transfer money to other users, including businesses, and pay for purchases made on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. If you’re a Facebook user or business owner wondering how Facebook Pay works or how to set up Facebook Pay, we have the answers you’re looking for.
First, what is Facebook Pay? It’s an in-app accelerated payment method that’s safe to use, both for buying and for selling. For buyers, it’s a quick and easy payment method that enables one-click transactions. Facebook Pay is secure too, and you can link your preferred credit or debit cards. If you’re a seller on Facebook Shops and Marketplace, you won’t pay any additional Facebook Pay fees for using it.
Facebook Pay is also available to US-based Shopify stores. Keep reading to find out how to set up Facebook Pay to send or receive payments.
Table of Contents
- What Is Facebook Pay?
- How Does Facebook Pay Work?
- What Are Facebook Pay Fees?
- Where Is Facebook Pay Available?
- How Do I Set Up Facebook Pay?
- Is Facebook Pay Safe?
- Facebook Pay VS PayPal
- Should You Use Facebook Pay For Your Business?
- Facebook Pay FAQs
What Is Facebook Pay?
Facebook Pay is a secure in-app accelerated payment method that works across Facebook apps and services. That includes Instagram and Messenger in the US, Canada, and Mexico as well as numerous African, Asia-Pacific, European, Middle Eastern, Latin American, and Caribbean nations. Facebook Pay also works with WhatsApp in Brazil.
If you’re already using Facebook or Instagram to buy and sell, it’s worth taking a look at Facebook Pay. After all, the easier it is to pay, the more likely you [or your customers] are to buy.
How Does Facebook Pay Work?
If you’ve used a friend-to-friend payment system like Zelle or Venmo, you’ll probably find that Facebook Pay works in a similar fashion. The main difference is that it works within the app you’re using: Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram. And it’s available only to users of those apps, though you have to set it up just once to have it work across all three platforms. You can do that in just two simple steps:
1] Sign In To Your Favorite Platform
Remember, once you set up Facebook Pay, you can use it on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. Facebook Pay will come up as an option while you’re in the checkout process, or you can add it by navigating to Settings and choosing Facebook Pay.
2] Enter Your Payment Info
Enter your payment card or bank account information. Your information will be stored securely, so you can buy products, make donations, and send cash to friends and family without having to reach for your wallet each time.
What Are Facebook Pay Fees?
It’s free to use Facebook Pay, whether you’re the buyer or the seller in the transaction. Whether you use Facebook Pay to purchase items on social media sites, to send money to contacts via Messenger, or to make donations to charitable causes, buyers will pay $0 in fees to use this payment method.
What if you are a merchant using Facebook Pay to sell on social media? Sellers who use Facebook Pay will pay $0 in additional fees. However, it’s important to note that Facebook Pay transactions will be processed through your normal payment processing service, just like other transactions. So you will pay your normal payment processing fee when customers use Facebook Pay to buy from you.
Where Is Facebook Pay Available?
Facebook Pay is available for Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger users in many countries around the globe. That’s good not only for people buying and selling in those countries but also for small businesses and individuals that want to sell or send money internationally.
Here is a small sampling of countries where you can set up Facebook Pay and use it for buying and selling. Visit the Facebook Pay international availability page for a complete list.
- Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa
- Asia-Pacific: Afghanistan, Australia, Cambodia, Guam, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
- Europe: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
- Latin America & The Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela
- Middle East: Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE
- North America: Canada, US
How Do I Set Up Facebook Pay?
Using this payment method is pretty easy, whether you’re the one sending or receiving money. Here are step-by-step instructions:
How To Set Up Facebook Pay As A Customer
When you want to start using Facebook Pay, the first thing you’ll need to do is sign up for the service. So head on over to your Facebook account settings — you can get there from your Facebook landing page by clicking on the triangle at the top right of your screen. [It’s probably right next to the notifications icon.] Click on Settings & privacy.
Screenshot of Facebook page, captured 2/24/2022
Next, select Settings and then scroll down a bit until you see Facebook Pay in the menu bar on the left side of the screen.
Screenshot of Facebook webpage, captured 2/24/2022
From there, you’ll be prompted to enter a payment method such as a debit or credit card or your bank account numbers. Facebook will retain your payment information, so you’ll be able to shop in the future without entering a credit or debit card number each time. Once you’ve saved payment information to either Facebook or Instagram, that payment method will be available to Facebook Pay right away.
Facebook says that more than 99% of payments are processed immediately, and any payments that don’t process are reviewed within 24 hours.
How To Set Up Facebook Pay As A Business Owner
Setting up your own Facebook Pay account so you can receive payments is similarly easy. And, because Facebook Pay offers customers such an easy way to complete their purchases, if you’re already selling on Facebook, you definitely should invest the time it takes to set up Facebook Pay.
The first step is to sign up for Facebook Pay yourself, using the instructions listed above. Your next steps will depend on how you’re using your social media account to sell:
How To Use Facebook Pay To Sell To Your Contacts
Many small businesses sell successfully on Facebook and Instagram using simple techniques. If your sales plan involves posting information and photos about items you have for sale and then connecting with your friends and followers who indicate interest, you can ask them to pay via Facebook Pay.
How To Use Facebook Pay To Sell On Facebook
Once you connect with someone who is interested in purchasing an item from you via Facebook Marketplace, you can use Facebook Pay to arrange payment. Connect with your customers through your page or via Messenger to set up payment using Facebook Pay.
How To Use Facebook Pay To Sell On Your Facebook Shop Or Instagram Shop
If you’ve enabled Facebook Pay on your Facebook Shop, your customers will see this payment method offered and can use it to check out faster using their saved credentials.
No matter how you arrive at the point of sale, once you have someone interested in buying something from you online, let the buyer know that you can accept Facebook Pay. The buyer can arrange payment via Messenger.
How To Use Facebook Pay To Sell On Your Shopify Store
If you use paid Facebook or Instagram advertising, your ads will direct customers to your Facebook Shop or directly to your online store. If your store is built with Shopify, you may be able to use Facebook Pay as a payment option on your own website. This is a new option that Facebook Pay is still rolling out. Fill out the application form to learn if you’re eligible and how it works.
Is Facebook Pay Safe?
A payment method is only as good as it is safe, and Facebook Pay delivers in this category. Your privacy is protected, too. Here’s how:
- Your purchases made via Facebook Pay will not show up in your profile or your feed.
- The people you buy from will see only the information needed to complete the transaction: your contact, ordering, and shipping information.
- Your payment information will not be shared with sellers, and it’s stored separately from your social media account data. Facebook Pay transactions are processed using Stripe, PayPal, and other safe, reliable processors.
- Payments are monitored using anti-fraud technology, and support is available if unauthorized transactions occur.
Facebook Pay links with affiliate partners and third parties to facilitate payment transfers. However, Facebook Pay’s privacy policy emphasizes that only limited personal information from users will be shared. Specifically, Facebook Pay can share your card numbers and other payment method information, your transaction history, or a copy of your identification according to legal requirements or to prevent fraud.
Beyond that, these measures have been put in place to protect Facebook Pay users’ information:
- Anti-Fraud Technology Monitoring: You’ll be alerted if unauthorized activity is detected.
- Customer Support: Report unauthorized transactions via email 24/7 or by live chat between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., Pacific Time.
- Data Security: Payment data is encrypted for storage. Payment methods are not shared with buyers, sellers, or merchants without consent, and payment information is stored separately from account data.
- Transaction Notifications: You can choose to receive in-app notifications when transactions are processed.
How Do I Set Up A PIN?
If you choose, you can set up a personalized Facebook Pay PIN for added security, and you can use fingerprint or face ID if those are offered on your device. To add a PIN, access your privacy settings by clicking the triangle icon in the top right of your Facebook landing page.
From there, Select Settings & Privacy, then click Settings. From the left menu, click on Facebook Pay and then Settings. On the far right side of your screen, you should see a Security heading with the option to Require PIN Confirmation. Toggle that switch on, and you’ll be prompted to add a PIN as a security check on Facebook Payments initiated from your account.
Screenshot of Facebook webpage, captured 2/24/2022
Facebook Pay VS PayPal
Facebook Pay can be a convenient payment option under some circumstances, especially for small business owners who see a significant portion of their sales coming from the social media sites Instagram and Facebook. But how does it compare to PayPal? While PayPal has an established reputation and widespread name recognition as a safe payment option, Facebook Pay is still developing and earning consumers’ trust. However, when compared to a bigger payment processing system like PayPal, Facebook Pay could save you money, because Facebook Pay does not charge any added fees for processing payments.
Of course, with Facebook Pay, you’ll still pay credit/debit card processing fees. The fees you are charged will vary depending on your choice of processor and the type of account you have. For comparison, PayPal rates for digital payments range between 3.49% + $0.49 and 2.99% + $0.49. Of course, there are other no-fee options you can use, too. An online service like Venmo or Zelle offers many of the same benefits — quick, secure, and free payment with fast delivery — without limiting your audience to those who use Facebook and Instagram.
Should You Use Facebook Pay For Your Business?
If you’ve been weighing the pros and cons of adding Facebook Pay as a payment option, you’re in for some good news. This is one decision you really don’t need to struggle with, because you can set up a free account on Facebook Pay. If your customers like that option and want to use it to buy from you, you will receive payments with no added fees. You don’t really have anything to lose by trying it out.
If you regularly connect with customers on Facebook or Instagram, let them know about all of the payment methods you can accommodate. After all, the easier you make it for the customer to pay, the more likely you are to complete the sale and pocket the money.
Facebook Pay FAQs
How does Facebook Pay work?
Facebook Pay is an accelerated in-app payment option that works by allowing shoppers to save their payment information securely. Once they set up Facebook Pay as a payment option, they can buy with one click, without having to enter their payment and shipping information each time they make a purchase on Facebook or Instagram or through Messenger.
How long does it take to receive a Facebook Pay payment?
Facebook says that more than 99% of payments are processed immediately, and any payments that don’t process are reviewed within 24 hours. The money will be transferred to your registered account right away, although it’s up to your bank to post funds to your account.
How do I accept Facebook Pay for my business?
To accept Facebook Pay as a payment option for your business, you first must sign up for a Facebook Pay account for yourself. Once you have an account, Facebook Pay will show up as a payment option on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. If you have a standalone online store built through Shopify, you can even set up to accept Facebook Pay on your Shopify store.
What are Facebook Pay fees?
Facebook Pay fees are $0. When you send or receive funds via Facebook Pay, you will not be charged any fees for using the system. However, sellers will still have to pay the normal payment processing fees charged by their payment processor.
Is Facebook Pay safe to use?
Facebook Pay is safe to use. Facebook Pay transactions are private, secure, and processed through a trusted payment processor like Stripe, PayPal, and others. Anti-fraud monitoring is included, and payment data is encrypted. You can even set up additional security measures such as a PIN or fingerprint and face ID.