Screen capture: TechCrunch

After recently adding a video chat function, parent company Facebook continues with Instagram’s transformation from a mobile image sharing platform into a do-it-all application by adding the ability to pay for things within the app. The company has confirmed to TechCrunch that the native in-app payments feature is currently being rolled out to a limited number of users who will be able to make purchases from within the app.

Setup requires the registration of a debit or credit card and a security pin. Once that’s in place, you can book appointments and pay at restaurants, hair salons and similar establishments using the photo sharing app. In the future, users will also be able to purchase movie tickets and comparable items.

Screen capture: TechCrunch

The feature could potentially make a nice combination with Instagram’s shopping tags, which were introduced in 2016 and open a retailer website if you tap on a photo of a product. It’s not too difficult to see Instagram’s native payments being used for this kind of retail transaction as well. We’re intrigued by the possibilities for photographers: say, buying prints or photography services right from inside the app.

There’s no word on when the feature will be made available to more Instagram users, but given payments is a complex topic with all sorts of local rules and regulations, we’d expect availability of the function in your app will to a large degree depend on location.