Emmanuel Dunand | Getty Images
Kevin Systrom, co‑founder of Instagram
You can now store payment information and buy products directly inside the Instagram app, the company confirmed to CNBC Thursday.
The payment feature appears under Settings in the app, with an option to add debit or credit card information, track previous payments and set a pin for extra security.
(TechCrunch first reported the Instagram update Thursday.)
You could already shop and purchase items at a retailer’s online site inside Instagram, opening a separate pop-out page and following normal online checkout processes. Now users can skip the extra steps and purchase the item all from the Instagram post.
It’s another effort to support businesses and advertising on the photo-sharing platform. The Facebook-owned Instagram has been building out its ad model to allow businesses and brands to advertise products seamlessly in a user’s content stream.
The feature is currently available only for a select group of partners, including online restaurant reservation site Resy, according to an Instagram spokesperson. It’s part of an update announced last year to allow for appointment booking in the app.
Social media rival Snap offered a similar update in recent weeks, leveraging its AR capabilities with a new feature called Shoppable that lets users shop for promoted products without leaving the app.
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