Facebook owned photo-sharing app, Instagram has quietly introduced in-app payments feature to directly compete with rivals. Snapchat recently introduced Snapcash, a native payments solution. Unlike WhatsApp payments, this feature does not allow for peer to peer payments and is only available for e-commerce purposes. This new feature, is currently in the beta stage and available for selective users in the US. In order to use the Instagram payments feature, the users simply need to add their debit or credit card and set up a security PIN to start making purchases right from the Instagram app.
Instagram has confirmed the development of this new feature. According to the company, the new payments feature can be used for booking appointments at selective restaurants and salons. As of now, the restaurant booking app Resy, offers a dedicated payments option for bookings directly from its Instagram Page, limited to some users though.
This in-app payments feature is altogether different from ‘Shoppable Tags’ feature, which was tested by the company in 2016. The ‘Shoppable Tags’ feature allowed users to find their favorite products and check their prices with a single tap. In order to buy the product, the users need to tap ‘Shop Now’ button which redirected them to the product’s website. With addition of the in-app payments feature, the user can make the payments for the products with-in the app and will not be redirected to other websites.
This feature, though currently available in beta stage, will shortly be rolled out to all Instagram users. Are you excited about the upcoming in-app payments feature on you favorite Instagram App? Do let us know your views in the comments below.