Twitter Users Can Now Send Money Via Tweets

French Twitter users are now able to send out money to their followers following a landmark deal signed between the microblogging site and one of the country’s largest banks.

From today, users will be able to send money via tweets using the S-Money service from Groupe BPCE, France’s second largest bank in terms of customers. However, the service will be open to any Twitter users with a bank account, regardless of which bank they currently use.

The sender will also not need to know the recipient’s banking details, as the S-Money service is built on a platform allowing money transfers via text message, and using the credit-card industry’s data security standards.

Coming soon

“(S-Money) offers Twitter users in France a new way to send each other money, irrespective of their bank and without having to enter the beneficiary’s bank details, with a simple tweet,” Nicolas Chatillon, chief executive of S-Money, BPCE’s mobile payments unit, told Reuters.

More details, including whether the payments would be kept private, or visible to select people will be revealed by the bank and Twitter tomorrow, Chatillon added.

Olivier Gonzalez, Twitter’s country manager in France, told the Financial Times that the site’s 140-character message model is well suited for payments due to its “live, public, conversational dimension.”

The news is the latest ecommerce move by Twitter as it branches out its user offerings as it looks to stay relevant in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Last month, the site launched the first trials of Twitter Buy, a new service which allows customers to make purchases via tweets.

Initially launching to a select number of customers in the US, the scheme allows customers using the iOS or Android Twitter app to purchase goods or content from registered accounts. Customers simply need to tap on the new “Buy” option in a tweet, which will take them to a new page with additional product details and prompt them to enter payment and shipment information.

Last week, details also emerged of a new payments service from Facebook. Revealed by an American hacker, the new service will allow users to send money through the site’s Messenger app, using either the existing bank details a user already has registered with Facebook (e.g. for use with in-site games or apps), or a separate debit or credit card.

All checked up on mobile payments? Try our quiz!