Facebook launched a new internal group called Facebook Financial to oversee payments and commerce initiatives, including Facebook Pay, a universal payments capability that it plans to include in all of its apps.

Why should we care?
Bringing commerce payments under a single umbrella through Facebook Financial solidifies the company’s ambitions to embed e-commerce within all of its platforms. By making it easier for consumers to pay for goods and services within Facebook-owned apps and platforms, the company is looking to grow consumer engagement, reminiscent of “superapps” WeChat and Alipay. The new group is led by David Marcus, who is also co-creator of the company’s Libra digital currency project. Marcus told Bloomberg the creation of Facebook Financial rationalizes the company’s strategy for “all things payments,” allowing it to grow digital commerce capabilities. To support that effort, the company is prioritizing the rollout of WhatsApp payments in India and Brazil. Facebook Financial, however, doesn’t stray into the world of the Libra cryptocurrency, which is under the purview of a different internal group called Novi, which is also led by Marcus.