The Commonwealth Bank will today introduce the concept of ‘Facebanking’ with a new social banking app that lets users make payments on Facebook.

The app is an extension of the bank’s Kaching smartphone app, and will let users make payments to friends, fund Facebook events and handle everyday banking transactions without leaving Facebook’s website, news.com.au reports.

While the initiative lets customers transact on a commonly used platform, online banking general manager at CommBank, Drew Unsworth, admits people may have misgivings about banking on a social network.

“When people first hear about it they think all their financial details will be on their (Facebook) wall, but that’s not right,” Unsworth says.

The bank rushed to assure customers the platform was secure and that Facebook wouldn’t have access to any personal financial information. Security measures in place include four-digit PINs and a registered mobile phone to verify transactions via SMS confirmation codes.

Unsworth says the bank will also offer a “100% security guarantee” to cover losses from unauthorised transactions, news.com.au reports.

“We’ve got a lot of monitoring around this type of transaction,” he says. “To make it work really well there’s a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes.”

The social app will allow users to pay anyone using their mobile number or email address, request a payment from forgetful friends, and keep track of who you’ve paid and what you’re owed on the desktop version of Facebook.