Facebook has recognized that mobile is the future, and like many big companies in the technology industry, the social network is aiming to make mobile its main focus. One of the first steps to see this reality happen is incorporating mobile payment, and Facebook is already working on this.
As per Financial Times' report [subscription required], Facebook is close to obtaining approval from the Central Bank of Ireland to help kick the service into gear. This would allow users to store money on Facebook for the purpose of paying employees or exchanging for goods.
Furthermore, it is understood that Facebook is in talks with three start-ups from London, such as TransferWise, Moni Technologies and Azimo. All three start-ups offer services in online and mobile international money transfer, though at the moment, it is not clear if the social network is planning to purchase one of these companies or to work out a partnership.
Global mobile payment is slowly growing into something extremely huge. Telecoms, banks and technology companies are already trying hard to secure a piece of the pie before there's nothing left to share.
One such company that is trying to carve a percentage of this market for itself is Google. The company launched Google Wallet to mixed reviews but failed to gain much traction. The reason for this could have a lot to do with telecom carriers, but this is just a wild assumption.
Apple is also looking to enter the mobile payment market; for it is the main reason the iPhone 5S has a fingerprint scanner. However, it is unknown how the company plans to enter the mobile payment market and how it plans to incorporate the fingerprint scanner into the experience.
With several companies looking to make a splash in the global mobile payment market, Facebook's task won't be easy. Fortunately, the company is the largest social network on the Internet, which already gives it a huge advantage against rivals.
If Facebook can convince its multitude of users to use its own mobile payment system, then it is likely that even PayPal would have no choice but to worry.
