The recent rebranding of Facebook to Meta—to emphasize the platform’s metaverse vision—has been garnering attention from all sectors alike. However, the platform is no stranger to scrutiny. Ever since its genesis in 2004 by 19 year old Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg, controversies, allegations and lawsuits have been the constant companions for Meta. But that hasn’t deterred the tech behemoth from being one of the most valuable companies in the world by market value. Diversification has always been a pivotal aspect in the tech giant’s innovation strategy, and it has held a long standing ambition to add payment services to its portfolio. One of Meta’s earliest attempts to foray into the finance industry can be traced back to its partnership with American Express in 2016, where it provided the bank’s card holders with an AmEx bot in the Messenger app. In this post, we explore some of the key events that shaped Meta’s journey in its quest to disrupt the payments industry. Paying Heed To Payments Meta’s courtship with payments can be dated back to 2016 – when it unveiled a feature where Messenger bots can accept payments natively without redirecting users to external sites. The launch of the marketplace feature […]