Facebook's Messenger app will soon let you send your friends money. Services including PayPal, its Venmo unit and the disappearing-photo app Snapchat already let you beam money to friends and family using smartphones linked to bank accounts or credit cards. Now Facebook has joined the fray, adding payments to its Messenger service. Scroll down for video . Facebook's "like" symbol at the entrance to the company's campus in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook users in the U.S. will soon be able to send their friends money using the social network's Messenger app, the company announced today . To send money, Messenger users can tap a new "$'' icon that's next to the buttons that let you send photos, stickers or a thumbs up sign. Then, enter the amount you want to send, tap "pay" on the top right corner and enter your debit card number. To receive money for the first time, enter the card number. Once you add your card number, you can create a pin code that you will need to enter the next time you want to send money. On Apple devices that have Touch ID, you can enable this instead and authorize transactions using your fingerprint. 'Today we’re adding a new feature in Messenger that gives people a more convenient and secure way to send or receive money between friends,' the firm said in a blog post. 'This feature will be rolling out over the coming months in the US, and it’s easy and free.' Facebook's entry, announced Tuesday, is free, works with debit cards and is available on Apple and Android mobile devices and on desktop computers. The world's largest social network will process the payments and emphasized the service's security features. Facebook will likely expand internationally after the service becomes available to U.S. users over the coming months. To send money, Messenger users can tap a new "$'' icon that's next to the buttons that let you send photos, stickers or a thumbs up sign. Then, enter the amount you want to send, tap "pay" on the top right corner and enter your debit card number. To receive money for the first time, enter the card number. Once you add your card number, you can create a pin code that you will need to enter the next time you want to send money. On Apple devices that have Touch ID, you can enable this instead and authorize transactions using your fingerprint. To help allay concerns about security, Facebook noted that it handles more than a million payments transactions on its site every day for its advertisers and game players. Its payments systems are stored separately from other parts of the Facebook network and receive additional monitoring and control, the company said in a blog post Tuesday. 'A dependable and trusted payments processor for game players and advertisers since 2007, Facebook processes more than one million transactions daily on the site and also handles all the payments processed on Messenger. 'Incorporating security best practices into our payments business has always been a top priority. 'We use secure systems that encrypt the connection'
Google already lets user send money via Gmail, Snapchat via its app and PayPal through its online service . Messenger users can tap a new "$'' icon in the mobile and desktop apps .