Facebook users in India can now recharge their prepaid mobile numbers with the social media platform’s Android app. Postpaid bill payments not yet supported.
While Facebook finds itself marred by various controversies regarding data safety and privacy, the social media platform has introduced a new feature to its Android app in India. Facebook for Android now lets users recharge their mobile numbers from within the app itself. It was earlier expected that Facebook might introduce the prepaid recharge facility and peer-to-peer payments on Facebook Messenger, but as per a new report, Facebook is not testing any digital payments feature on Messenger currently.
The prepaid mobile recharge feature on Facebook is fairly similar to how recharges work on Paytm, MobiKwik or FreeCharge. Users are needed to input their numbers and select their telecom circles in order to browse the available recharge tariff plans for that region. Plans from all major telecom operators such as Airtel, Jio, Idea, BSNL, MTNL, Tata Docomo, Tenor and Vodafone are available on Facebook’s Android app.
To recharge a mobile number through the Facebook Android app, users need to head to the hamburger menu on the top right of the screen, next to the notifications menu. An option called Mobile Recharges or Mobile Top-up should be available within the Hamburger menu. If you do not see any one of the two options, click on ‘See More’ to reveal the same.
Once you click on the Mobile Recharges option, you will need to input the prepaid mobile number and select your telecom circle and recharge plan before proceeding for payments. Payments are currently only accepted through Visa and Mastercard debit or credit cards. There are no options to use mobile wallets to complete the recharge transaction on Facebook.
The new prepaid mobile recharge facility on Android comes at a time when WhatsApp messenger is facing scrutiny for tracking messages and sharing users’ payment information with its parent company Facebook. It is not yet clear if Facebook stores the payment information provided by users while conducting a mobile recharge, although, there is no option to store payment details for future use on the Android app.
Apart from prepaid recharges, the Facebook Android app currently does not offer bill payments for postpaid mobile numbers. The feature is not available on Facebook’s iOS app right now, but can be expected soon.
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