A new chapter is unfolding in the ongoing messenger apps narrative. Major finance brands like American Express and Paypal are breathing new life into mobile banking, and they are doing it through chatbots on messengers; specifically, Facebook Messenger.
This week, Mastercard joined the discussion as well with the announcement of its own personal banking bot on Facebook Messenger, according to TechCrunch. Due out sometime early next year, the bot will allow account holders access to various bits of banking and account information through Messenger’s bots.
On the one hand, the advent of these “bot commerce” systems could revolutionize the way consumers approach mobile banking. Bot commerce could have serious ramifications for ecommerce as a whole if other business adopt Mastercard’s planned merchant program, which would allow consumers to make purchases using the bot in addition to managing their money.
But perhaps the most interesting thing about this bot commerce push is the fact that is almost exclusive to Facebook Messenger.
The platform has held a comfortable lead over its competitors since its inception; even before then, if we consider Facebook’s early (and expensive) acquisition of WhatsApp. Moves like this integration of mobile banking indicate Facebook’s adept strategy with regard to messengers, and show just how far the company’s nascent competitors—like Google’s virtual assistant infused Allo—have to go.
