The Facebook app and the Facebook Messenger app are free. Now we know that Facebook monetizes the app and the web version through ads, but as far as the Messenger app is concerned, it’s free and there are no ads in it. So does Facebook plan on monetizing the app in the future? Well perhaps, according to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
Speaking during the company’s recent earnings call, Zuckerberg confirmed that payments and Messenger will eventually “overlap”. It is unclear as to how that might happen, but we guess based on his statement that it will eventually make its way to the app. In fact some have speculated that this could be the reason why Zuckerberg had hired David Marcus.
Marcus, for those unfamiliar with the name, was the former president of PayPal. When he was hired, many speculated that his hiring might have to do with monetizing Messenger, and we guess this pretty much confirms Facebook’s plans. It’s interesting to see if Facebook’s monetization of Messenger will apply to WhatsApp.
The social networking giant had announced their acquisition of WhatsApp earlier this year, and while they did mention they will run the company as a separate entity for now, presumably at some point down the road they will eventually take control and monetize it. Facebook had recently unveiled a way for users to make purchases within Facebook itself, so perhaps that could be a hint of what’s coming.