Canadians Can Now Send Money via Facebook Messenger

Canadians will now be able to send money to Facebook friends via the social network’s instant messaging platform.

RBC this week launched North America’s first person-to-person electronic money transfer capability for customers to send money to Facebook Messenger contacts from within the RBC Canada app. The bank first announced the idea in December.

“We are excited to bring this new capability—the first of its kind in North America—to Canada and to our clients, who we know are avid Facebook users,” said Dave McKay, group head, Personal and Commercial Banking, RBC Royal Bank, at the time.

“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,” he added.

Up until now, sending an e-transfer required the recipient’s email address or a mobile phone number. Now, through the RBC Canada app, clients simply select a friend or family member from their Facebook Messenger friend list, transfer the funds and provide a message for the receiver. The receiver will receive a message in their Messenger inbox, and will be directed to log in to the Financial Institution of their choice to deposit the funds.

“We worked closely with RBC to make it easier for people to send person-to-person money transfers to contacts on Messenger in a safe and secure way. Every day, 9.4 million Canadians use Facebook on their mobile device to connect with people they care about, and this new app provides a meaningful service for RBC customers,” noted Jordan Banks, global head of Vertical Strategy and managing director for Facebook Canada.