Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) has moved a step closer to launching a peer-to-peer payment service in its Messenger service in Australia. The country’s patent regulator has granted the company a patent for the roll out of a P2P payments service.

 P2P Rivalry

The patent is a milestone achievement for Facebook which is looking to take on local banks that have spent over $1 billion on similar services. The tech giant’s P2P service should be a point of concern for local banks as they are already grappling with competition from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA). Messenger’s 17 million users in Australia could make it hard for banks to recoup investments in their P2P systems.

 It may take some time before Facebook Messenger payment service to become operational in Australia as there are more steps needed to bring the service online. However, the service could be up and running soon given that it does not need any approval from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Facebook first launched P2P payments in Messenger, in 2015. Users in the U.S can link their debit card to the messaging app and be able to make and receive payments from family members, friends as well as groups within the social network. The service is currently free and supported by Visa’s V.me and MasterCard Send.

Facebook Big Play

P2P payments on Messenger are not in any way expected to be a direct revenue stream for Facebook in the near future. The main play with the service is to increase member usage of the app as the tech giant continues to explore ways of keeping people engaged. The service should also act as another data source useful for increasing the value of advertisers on the network.

“This is the sort of feature that is about driving people onto Facebook. Payments may not be part of their core strategy to grow profits, however, many social media channels are looking to enable payments to keep people on their pages longer,” said Lance Blockley of The Initiatives Group

Facebook is planning to launch the service in Europe after receiving a license from Ireland’s central bank last year.