Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

TransferWise Launches International Money Transfers Via Facebook (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the smart-moves dept.

Money transfer company TransferWise has launched a new service that allows users to send money internationally through Facebook's Messenger, as competition in the digital payments landscape intensifies. From a report on Reuters: The London-based startup said on Tuesday that it had developed a Facebook Messenger "chatbot", or an automated program that can help users communicate with businesses and carry out tasks such as online purchases. TransferWise's chatbot enables customers to send money to friends and family to and from the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and Europe from Facebook Messenger. It can also be used to set up exchange rate alerts. Facebook already allows its users to send money domestically in the United States via its Messenger app, but has not yet launched similar services internationally. TransferWise said its service will be the first to enable international money transfers entirely within Messenger.

33 comments

  1. Just use bitcoin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    NT

    1. Re:Just use bitcoin by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      You'd be crazy to use Bitcoin.

      Use Dogecoin instead!

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:Just use bitcoin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I already use Bitcoin regularly for work and pleasure and sending money overseas ! There are a few dozen nearby restaurants and other businesses (from 101 Local Goods to Local Burger to ThinkPenguin for computers and accessories- the later is mostly online, but happens to be nearby). Plus I pay my car insurance bill in Bitcoin, travel for work in Bitcoin (Expedia.com for hotels and CheapAir.com). I pay employees and contractors in BTC and use BTC to send money to engineers/developers of projects we sponsor working overseas in places like Hong Kong, China, London, and the Netherlands. I wish more people would pay us in Bitcoin. It's a thousand times better than credit card payments in that its cheaper and there aren't any charge backs-ever.

  2. crazy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You must be crazy to use zuckerworld to transfer money. I don't know else would cause someone to do this.
    'It's facebook, what could go wrong?'

  3. ICE will love i by ronmon · · Score: 3, Informative

    When the too-stupid-to-be-burger-flippers stop you in customs and demand your Facebook login they'll be drooling over this.

    1. Re:ICE will love i by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      And why would they? Are you somehow implying that banking information isn't shared with the US government already?

    2. Re:ICE will love i by mjwx · · Score: 1

      When the too-stupid-to-be-burger-flippers stop you in customs and demand your Facebook login they'll be drooling over this.

      I get your point.

      But you also haven't used any of these transfer services.

      By and large they are pretty good but transfers take days to complete, partially as a security measure (and partially because it takes time for the money to clear). If I were to transfer money from UK account to a UK account it would still take a day to process (in the UK, I can transfer from account to account in a matter of seconds using Faster Payments). You have to transfer the money from your bank and specifiy the bank your sending it to, so it's hardly anonymous either.

      You wont be able to send money via facebook, you'll still have to use your banks process, you will probably just get the quote via Facebook. Personally I'd be more concerned about saved credit card info on your phone (which I try never to do).

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  4. So... it is just a bot doing stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    whats old is new again

  5. Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to Facebook the guard some cash as a bribe so I can get out.

    1. Re:Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not far from the truth. We ship servers to all of our locations internationally, with the proper paperwork in order, I might add. We sent a truck of servers to our Mexico data center 2 years ago. The truck, servers, and our staff members were appropriated by Mexican customs until we sent someone with an envelope of cash to "help" the process along.

    2. Re:Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to Facebook the guard some cash as a bribe so I can get out.

      I think that's what we'll start seeing on posts.

      You can tag a post and then put on a simple "Pay me now" button so people can read your plea for money and simply get it by clicking a link.

      It's one of those things you really wonder why it hasn't happened before. It's one of those its so obvious now it's done things.

      Soon you'll have dozens of posts in your news feed "My car broke down and it'll cost $2000 to fix it! [Send Money]" and other woe-is-me stories...

    3. Re:Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to by c · · Score: 2

      Soon you'll have dozens of posts in your news feed "My car broke down and it'll cost $2000 to fix it! [Send Money]" and other woe-is-me stories...

      There's already a common scam where someone scrapes a Facebook profile, sets up an apparent duplicate, and starts adding all their friends. Inevitably people respond to the friend requests (they forget that they're friends, or assume that the person had to create a new account for some reason, or whatever), and then the scammer starts up with the money requests.

      This might make it simpler, but it's already not that hard to set up these kinds of scams.

      To be honest, I'm at the point where I find it hard to believe that there's anyone left on the Internet who is (a) gullible enough to fall for these scams and (b) still has enough money to be able to fall for these scams.

      --
      Log in or piss off.
    4. Re:Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      I was just thinking that we needed yet another way to move money across the Internet. Thank god that Facebook is here to help!

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    5. Re:Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      As long as there are follow-up plugins that allow me to send them a bag of dicks as well, I'm good with it.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    6. Re:Hi buddy I'm jail over seas and I need you to by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You'd be surprised.

      My grandpa wired $15k to some scam artist just because they called him on the phone and told him to.

      Fighting about this with my wife right now. She ripped off every payday loan company in the area, one being ACE Cash Express. So now she gets emails from "them" threatening collections/lawsuits unless she pays them back via untraceable means. Oh and their email is something like ace.cash.expresscollections@gmail.com or some such shit. They have the awesome English too... like "Thanks be to you to remitting balance. Please revert with any questions"

      Interestingly, they know the exact balance that she really owes Ace Cash Express. So she thinks it's legit and has sent them $900 so far. Whatever. It's her fucking paycheck, not mine. And she's stupid enough to fall for it.

      So now that "Ace" is nearly paid off... now the emails are starting to arrive from Law Offices of Jones Smith or some such shit... must be some guy just out of law school in India... because it's the same broken English from lawofficesofjonessmith@gmail.com or whatever. Fucking amazing! And he wants their $1900 that she ripped off of SpeedyCash. And he wants it via untraceable means as well.

      One little piece of legit information (like knowing the actual balances due) makes these scams seem legit.

  6. administrative excercise by bugs2squash · · Score: 2

    Decrementing a counter in one country and incrementing another counter overseas causes this company to be worth $1bn right out of the gate ! That right there shows you how much people are being ripped off to transfer money.

    --
    Nullius in verba
    1. Re:administrative excercise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering credit cards by EU law cannot charge more than 0.3% to transfer money and this company charges 0.5% to transfer €1000, credit cards are cheaper both at the high and low end of the spectrum. And transferring money via credit card is really easy to setup.

    2. Re:administrative excercise by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      but....but....it's CUTTING EDGE technology! The ability to use a computer to pay for something?! Welcome to the FUTURE!

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  7. Verticalization of scammers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh, great, so now it's even easier and more convenient to send blackmail money to Nigeria or Ivory Coast scammers.

  8. Realistic scam by DrYak · · Score: 1

    Sadly, it's exactly the kind of real-world bribery nightmare that your company had endured that brings credibility to the various "I'm jail over seas and I need your help" scams/identity theft that often flourish on the social media.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
    1. Re:Realistic scam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd take that corruption over the oligarchy corruption here in the states, where fraudsters like Gary Cohn now write the tax code for their buddies at Goldman.

  9. Launches or Launders? by Nkwe · · Score: 1

    I first read launches as launders and thought it funny. I thought about is some more and it may be more of a risk than a joke.

  10. Facebook, Microsoft, and Google compete. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Facebook, Microsoft, and Google seem to be in competition to see who can be most abusive.

  11. What could possibly go wrong? by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    1) Hack TransferWise chatbot.
    2) Redirect funds.
    3) PROFIT!

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  12. Scammer's rejoicing around the world by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    When you thought it couldn't get any worse than Western Union...

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Scammer's rejoicing around the world by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      At least with WU you don't need an account with them to send or receive money...

      This is totally a play to get people who don't already have a FB account to be forced into getting one for the convenience.

      At some point, I wouldn't be surprised if FB becomes the new Amazon....

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  13. Is this an Ad or a Story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sometimes, it is hard to differentiate between the two. Slashdot is losing relevancy despite being one of the first social networks.

  14. Can't see any problems with this at all..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Should be nice an safe... *rolls eyes*

  15. I'm conflicted by jenningsthecat · · Score: 1

    On the one hand, 'Facebook' - enough said. On the other hand, competition is good, and we need more of it in the digital payments business. Besides, I'd love to see PayPal taken down a notch or fifty - maybe then they'd at least have to act as if they weren't utterly evil, in order to stay viable.

    --
    'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
  16. solve the problem permanently by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Jesus Christ. $900 will buy a lot of ammo. Hell, you can dropship a crate of machetes direct from Alibaba for that.

  17. TransferWise is not the first by tearmeapart · · Score: 1

    The largest bank in Canada, RBC, implemented this a few years ago.

    As far as I know, Facebook is just used as a message platform to inform the users of the transfer, so this is not really a big deal.
    However, that being stated, most social platforms have better authentication solutions than most banks in the world, which makes me trust some sites more than my own bank.

    1. Re: TransferWise is not the first by corychristison · · Score: 1

      If I'm not mistaken, those are just Interac eTransfers.

      Every Financial Institution in Canada supports them. Some charge a small fee ($1-$2) to send them. Some allow you to send them free. Some give you a certain number of them for free per month. But it's always free to receive.

      The difference with this TransferWise thing, is that it works internationally, which you can not do with Interac eTransfers, and that's kinda cool. It certainly looks easier than Paypal, but I havent looked much further than the TransferWise home page.

  18. Nigerian Princes by naris · · Score: 1

    Approve this message wholeheartedly!