Facebook Adds QR Codes, Payments Link To Messenger

Facebook announced a host of new chat and messenger features Thursday (June 10).

And while we have nothing against Olivia Rodrigo or the Fast and Furious movies — both of which you can now choose as themes for your chat messages — one new feature was particularly interesting from our perspective: the addition of QR codes and payment links to Messenger.

Facebook says this feature lets users leverage QR codes and payment links to send or request money with Facebook Pay, even if they aren’t connected to the other person on the platform.

There’s no need to add new contacts or download a separate payment app. To access your QR code and payment link, go to Messenger settings and choose Facebook Pay. From there you can simply share the payment link or let friends scan your QR code to send or receive money.

In addition to the QR codes and payments links, Facebook has also added a quick reply bar to the Messenger media viewer.

“This makes it easier to have conversations sparked by a cool photo or video without needing to go back to your main chat thread,” Director of Messaging Product, Messenger Sateesh Kumar Srinivasan said in the announcement. “Just tap on the photo or video and send a response through the quick reply bar at the bottom of the screen. Swipe up to exit the full-screen media viewer and head back to your main chat thread.”

News that Facebook was testing personalized QR codes broke back in April. Facebook has allowed users to make payments through Facebook Pay since 2019.

In an interview with PYMNTS in April, Facebook Global Business Group VP Carolyn Everson stressed the company’s commitment to pursuing digital payments.

“We certainly have very, very big plans around being able to facilitate payments between businesses and people and people to people,” Everson said. “We see being able to provide payment services globally as a really important service that we need to provide to both businesses and consumers.”