Facebook shares soar as it improves banking relationships

Facebook had discussions with Chase, JPMorgan, Citibank, and Wells Fargo several months ago, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

Among the "features" Facebook is reportedly looking to create if it successfully obtains financial data is a tool that would "show its users their checking-account balances", the Journal reported.

But Facebook is still dealing with the fallout of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which generated a lot of distrust in how the company manages its users' data.

A further Facebook foray into finance could also help it compete with the likes of upstart tech firms like PayPal's Venmo, Zelle - a Venmo competitor launched by banks themselves - or the hoard of personal finance sites and apps that have exploded in recent years.

"The idea is that messaging with a bank can be better than waiting on hold over the phone - and it's completely opt-in", the spokesperson said, adding that keeping people's information safe is critical to its partnerships with any banking institutions. American Express customers can use Messenger to track purchases. But they also said they were stepping lightly because of possible customer concerns about data security and privacy.

Though the identity of that bank is unknown, it's not a surprise that some of Facebook's potential partners would be a bit leery of the company's business practices.

"We don't use purchase data from banks or credit card companies for ads", spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana told the Journal. (FB) is seeking to acquire financial data on its users.

Wells Fargo said in a statement that "maintaining the privacy of customer data is of paramount importance" to the bank.

Shares of Facebook are up just 0.3% since the beginning of 2018 thanks to massive selloffs in March following the Cambridge Analytica saga and another rout last week following a disappointing quarterly earnings report.

Highlighting the fact that "Facebook has been a cesspool of privacy issues for quite a while", technology writer Curtis Silver argued in a piece for Forbes on Monday that it's time to "quit Facebook before it inevitably accesses your banking data".

A spokeswoman for Citigroup said the company recognizes its customers are increasingly spending more time on social media and it wants to be where consumers are.

Facebook already offers bank account linking options, but it is only available on a small scale.