A couple months ago, Facebook finally announced person-to-person payments in Messenger after months of rumor that the product would get something enabling people to use the app for payments. Still, Facebook said the roll out would be slow and over the coming months.

Today, the company says it’s launching the feature in New York City and surrounding metro areas as it continues to roll out across the U.S. It’s also adding some new functionality to make sending and receiving money in Messenger conversations easier.

“Now in your Messenger conversations, dollar amounts are automatically hyperlinked and when tapped, will start a payment for that amount to the person you’re messaging,” a spokesperson for Facebook tells WebProNews in an email. “The sender can then confirm the payment before sending. This is similar to how addresses, phone numbers, or website URLs are automatically hyperlinked in Messenger.”

“If people are engaged in a group conversation, they can now pay friends individually within the group on desktop without having to leave the group conversation,” the spokesperson adds. “People in the group conversation will be able to see who paid whom and for how much.”

“These new capabilities make it even simpler to send and receive money within Messenger,” the spokesperson says. “Whether you’re chatting about weekend plans or paying back a friend, it’s now easier than ever to finish the conversation about money in the same place it starts — Messenger.”

Facebook will continue with the “phased rollout” approach. It’s unclear when the feature will become more broadly available. You can, however, get access to the feature if someone who already has access send you a payment.

Images via Facebook