Facebook Banking: Mark Zuckerberg’s Social Network Wants To Handle Your Money
Facebook banking could be the next part of your life that Mark Zuckerberg’s social network wants to handle. You might think they do already, but you’re probably mistaking it for Zynga’s microtransactions in their infamous games.
Facebook has already proven itself as the social network where the older crowd tends to get nostalgic and occasionally annoy you with game invites. It even reinvented the email system so that you’ll get messages saved on the site for when you can get around to it. Their messaging app also makes a more versatile alternative to texting.
You may be reading this and wondering if you really want Facebook taking over more of your life, and for now the answer isn’t a solid yes or no. The way we handle money these days is mostly as data, a series of ones and zeroes which are used to pay our bills and buy that neat item on Amazon or eBay. Facebook banking is just a way to combine your social life and your financial planning, and possibly make more money for Mark Zuckerberg.
Just commented on @thejournal_ie: Facebook awaits approval from Irish Central Bank for e-money service – http://t.co/bauSHzwNbA
— Laura Byrne® (@laurabyrne2008) April 14, 2014
If Facebook ever introduces loans, then it could easily make a steady income off of interest alone. It could be a possibility in the future, but for now they are aggressively looking to make partnerships with financial institutions. This is the same thing that major institutions like Bank of America have done to handle their mobile apps.
A Facebook banking app would be equally scary and innovative. With integration through the search bar and messenger, the social network could easily become a way to do your online shopping and communicate with buyers and sellers, and possibly charge a convenience fee or course. The recent action they took with making pages something you have to follow to get updates from, and charging for extra publicity, could limit your marketing substantially and drive you to Craigslist though. It’s still too early to be sure.
The question remains whether or not you want Facebook to handle your money. You might want to hold off at first and wait for the security and glitches to get fixed, but Facebook banking could be the wave of the future.
[image via Stephencolman.com]
