Facebook's new payment service will let you send money without fees across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger

Facebook launched a new payment service on Tuesday that will let users of its family of apps — including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger — send and receive money and make purchases, a move that lets Facebook match popular features offered by competitors while its more ambitious Libra digital payments system is mired in scrutiny.

The Facebook Pay service is similar to Venmo, Google Wallet and Apple Pay, allowing users to transfer money directly from their bank account or credit cards. It will also be accepted as payment on the Facebook Marketplace. However, Facebook Pay has no fees and will not store money in an online account.

Facebook Messenger already had a service called Payments that let people send money from their bank accounts, but it didn't support major credit cards. Facebook Pay will accept most major credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, and users can also connect a PayPal account. Facebook says PayPal, Stripe and other international partners will process payments for Facebook Pay.