RBC First North American Bank to Bring Person-to-Person Money Transfers to Facebook Messenger

RBC today marked a North American first by announcing a social, person-to-person (P2P) electronic money transfer capability for customers to send money to Facebook Messenger contacts, right from within the RBC Canada app.

Working closely with Facebook, RBC enhanced its app to allow customers to send an Interac e-Transfer directly to their contacts on Facebook Messenger.

“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.

“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.”

Up until now, sending an Interac 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, just like with any Interac e-Transfer today. This new capability is seamlessly integrated into RBC’s existing mobile app, providing clients with greater choice and convenience in how they bank and transact with RBC.

According to today’s press release, every day, 9.4 million Canadians use Facebook on their mobile device.

This new capability is available now on iPad, with iPhone coming in February 2014 and other platforms later in the year.