Facebook is Now Going For Your Bank Information

Facebook has approached several major banks in the US in hopes of letting its customers be able to access account balances or get fraud alerts through its Messenger service. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, in order to allow such a feature, Facebook has asked banks to provide extremely detailed information, including credit card numbers, purchases, and other sensitive personal data. It has been reported that Facebook has been in talks with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup to potentially partner to allow these services.

The news of this comes at a time when Facebook has been the center of controversy after it was reported that the company mismanaged the personal data of over 80 million of its customers. Now, Facebook has chosen to pursue an even greater hold over its customers personal data during times when major tech companies have come under fire for completely bungling its users data.

Nonetheless, Facebook released a statement explaining the feature they hope to introduce to Messenger. “Account linking enables people to receive real-time updates in Facebook Messenger where people can keep track of their transaction data like account balances, receipts, and shipping updates,” the statement said. “The idea is that messaging with a bank can be better than waiting on hold over the phone – and it’s completely opt-in. We’re not using this information beyond enabling these types of experiences – not for advertising or anything else. A critical part of these partnerships is keeping people’s information safe and secure.”

After the Wall Street Journal reported its scathign critique of the move to gain access to personal financial records, Facebook was quick to defend its actions. Facebook spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana said “The idea is that messaging with a bank can be better than waiting on hold over the phone — and it’s completely opt-in.” She continued “We’re not using this information beyond enabling these types of experiences — not for advertising or anything else. A critical part of these partnerships is keeping people’s information safe and secure.”

Facebook currently has deals with several financial institutions, including PayPal and American Express that allows users to review transactions and receipts in Messenger.