Facebook Messenger Now Helps You Pester That Friend Who Never Pays You Back

We’ve all been there. You go out, have a nice meal … only to realize a few weeks later or so that your friend hasn’t paid back the $20 you lent her when you went out. What should you do? Facebook Messenger may have a solution.

This week, the social network introduced a feature on its Messenger App called chat assist, which drops a link into the chat window asking your friend to pay whatever they owe. The optional service is automated, and uses word recognition (think “IOU”) to determine whether a payback prompt is needed. The choice is yours whether to add it or not.

Chat assist follows the launch of Facebook’s Messenger payment service in March, which allows users to send and receive money free of charge, like Square Cash or Venmo.

Though some Facebook users may find the feature off-putting, others may find it’s a boon for helping them retrieve the money they’re owed. After all, nothing will put damper on a relationship quite like friends who “forget” to pay money they owe.

For those who are on level with their money, Facebook also introduced a new poll feature this week that allows users to write a question with possible answers for making plans, which can be posted to group chats. After reading the prompt, everyone in the group can “vote” on the plans and decide what to do together.

Friends & Money

Remember, loaning money to friends comes with emotional and financial costs, some of which you may not be prepared to take. Lending $20 here or there may not be a big deal at first, but it will add up if neither you nor your friend are forthcoming about expectations for paying it back. This is why having a conversation is a must. You can learn more about some effective ways to loan money to friends (and family) here. In the meantime, if you’ve been going out a lot and would like to check in with the effect it’s having on your finances, a good place to start is by viewing a free summary of your credit report, which you can access on Credit.com.

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