The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has added a feature to its iPad app which lets customers send money to their Facebook Messenger contacts.
The system taps into the Interac e-Transfer tool, which enables Canadians to make person-to-person payments using the recipient's e-mail address or mobile phone number.
RBC has taken the technology a step further by integrating its iPad app with Facebook so that customers can select someone from their Messenger friend list, transfer the funds and add a note. The receiver gets a notification in their Messenger inbox and is directed to log in to their bank to deposit the funds.
The service will come to RBC's iPhone app in February and other platforms, such as Android later next year.
Dave McKay, group head, personal and commercial banking, RBC Royal Bank, says: "An Interac e-Transfer is typically a result of a social interaction, such as paying your friend for concert tickets or dinner. Our social P2P solution provides our clients with the added simplicity, convenience and choice to bank in the manner in which they interact on a daily basis, with the security they expect from RBC."