Social networking phenomenon Facebook is a step away from being able to authorise bank transfers between friends in Portugal.
The service is already under licence in Spain and has been working in the US since 2015.
As Diário de Notícias explains, Facebook is “considered one of the principal threats to traditional banking” as its service “will greatly reduce commissions applied by financial entities for these kind of operations”.
Facebook has presented its application for a Portuguese banking licence to the Bank of Portugal, while its company Ireland-based Facebook Payments International Limited is listed under the heading “Institutions of electronic currency based in the EU under the regime of free service provision”.
This means, say news reports, that the network is allowed to emit, distribute and reimburse money electronically, and serve as a payment method.
The only information lacking now is the framework in which the service will function in Portugal.
