How Facebook Promises to Keep Friend-to-Friend Payments Secure

— -- Facebook has become a medium for sharing messages and memories -- and now the social network is expanding that to include cold hard cash.

When chatting with friends over Facebook messenger, users can now easily send money to a friend -- whether it's for their portion of the bill, a gift or a donation for something bigger.

The free feature will be rolled out in the United States for iOS, Android and desktop in the coming months, but the sneak peek Facebook gave today focuses on the simplicity and security of Facebook as a peer-to-peer payment platform.

After hooking up a card, users tap the $ sign in messenger, enter an amount and send money to a friend who also has a card hooked to Facebook's system. The money will arrive in one to three business days.

Facebook said in an announcement that the service will encrypt the connection between a user and Facebook, as well as their card information if it has been stored.

"These payment systems are kept in a secured environment that is separate from other parts of the Facebook network and that receive additional monitoring and control," Facebook's blog post said.

Adding to that protection is an anti-fraud team that will monitor for suspicious activity to make sure users' financial information remains secure.

Extra security layers -- including a PIN and Touch ID on certain iPhones -- can also help ensure a person's remains in control of their account.