Instagram Payments Launched – Everything You Need To Know

After Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, the photo-sharing app been through an evolutionary change since its launch. Beginning as a photo networking service, it has since turned more into a social media platform and now a place for commerce. Other than sharing photos and videos, Instagram can do almost everything Facebook and WhatsApp can do.

The company has been criticised in the past for copying features from its competitor app Snapchat. With close to a billion users, Instagram is one of the most used social platforms in the world. The app introduced in-app ads in 2013 with full-screen ads via Stories in 2017. Till now, brands used to promote products where users can click on the items and can make a purchase on the brand’s website.

But from now Instagram will accept payments in the app itself, which means you can directly make a purchase on Instagram.

Native Payments Feature

The company has a new payments feature where you can register a debit or credit card on your profile, set up a security pin and save the card for future use. You can directly buy things from the app without having to leave the app for a separate website or enter payment information.

If the native payments feature works out well, Instagram can turn into a major player in online retail. Brands can easily advertise products and the ease of placing an order with pre-set payment facility will help to boost up impulse sales via Instagram.

Instagram Payments & Shoppable Tags

The payments option on Instagram will work with its Shoppable Tags. Earlier, one could see products in a post but had to tap through to go to the brand’s site to make a purchase. The social media platform has already partnered with BigCommerce and Shopify to expand the feature.

Instagram already allows users to make a purchase on the retailer’s online site. The brand site opens on a separate pop-out page and follows a normal online checkout process. From now on, users won’t have to leave Instagram or enter payment information separately.

Facebook & WhatsApp Payments

Facebook introduced its payments feature via Messenger in 2013 and rolled out peer-to-peer (P2P) payments later. Facebook allows native payments via Messenger where people can buy things and send money to friends.

The Facebook-owned WhatsApp also has launched its payments feature in India early this year. The feature is available with selected users and a full roll-out is expected very soon.

More Business For Instagram & Facebook

The payments feature will help to make the buying experience on Instagram faster and easier. The convenience of the native payments option will help Instagram to boost up its role in commerce in collaboration with parent body Facebook. The feature is available with a select number of partners and businesses on Instagram, but a full roll-out will happen in a few months globally.

Already the company is working on a new ad model which will allow companies and businesses to advertise their products seamlessly in a user’s content streaming feed.

A few months back, rival Snapchat also began a beta test for its native payments and check-out feature.