Facebook has garnered an eMoney license from the central bank of Ireland to operate in that country, TechCrunch reported.
The granting of that license means that peer-to-peer payments now can be deployed across Facebook Messenger in Europe, the site reported. The firm had been granted a license to operate Facebook Payments International Limited this past October, with the ability to issue eMoney and operate across remittance and credit transfer activities. With the granting of the license in Ireland, passporting takes effect, which means the license is applicable across the remaining 27 members of the European Union.
TechCrunch said that the process to get that license has stretched back to 2014. In the meantime, with the license in place, Facebook now can compete with Paym, among other mobile peer-to-peer initiatives. Questions remain as to whether the service will extend to all EU currencies or whether it will be confined to the euro.
