The business, launched in 2004 and today worth more than $100bn, has applied for regulatory permission in Ireland to establish a service that would allow members to store money on Facebook and use it to pay others, according to a report in the Financial Times (£).

The newspaper, citing several unnamed sources it said are involved in the process, reported that Facebook plans to issue units of stored monetary value that would represent a claim against the company.

The ‘e-money’, it added, would be valid throughout Europe via a process known as ‘passporting’.

Facebook is a globally-recognised business, and several commentators have speculated on the future shape of financial services should brand giants, such as Amazon, enter the market.

However, the FT noted that some may question whether Facebook should be trusted to handle their money, given concerns about personal data mining.

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