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Friends using Facebook Messenger could soon send each other money in a very similar way to how they currently exchange photos within private messages.

This rumour is based on screenshots taken by a US computer science student who uncovered what he believes is Facebook's next move to make its stand-alone messaging service more popular.

The payment options appear to let users send money in the same way they send files, with the addition of in-app PIN code to boost security.

Andrew Aude, a student at Stanford University in California, used an iOS tool called Cycript on an iPhone to explore the 'forthcoming' feature, which has yet to be confirmed by Facebook,TechCrunch reported. 

He said users will be able to pay friends at the touch of a button within a message, but at this stage it is not known whether the feature will be offered for free, or whether users will have to pay a charge for the convenience.

If the feature is confirmed, it may explain why Facebook recently appointed David Marcus – the former President of PayPal – as the new head of Messenger. 

A Messenger payment service would go head-to-head with PayPal, as well as other peer-to-peer payment systems. 

It would also make Facebook's offering stand out from other popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

More than messages? The student who used the payment system says users of Messenger (logo pictured)  will be able to pay friends at the touch of a button within a message but at this stage it is not known whether the feature will be offered for free, or whether users will have to pay a charge

In July, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted that a payment service will be added to the social network, saying: 'over time there will be some overlap between [Messenger] and payments. 

A payment service would go head-to-head with other peer-to-peer payment systems. A screenshot of the current Messenger is pictured

'The payments piece will be a part of what will help drive the overall success and help people share with each other and interact with businesses.'

However, he warned at the time that there was a lot of work for Facebook to do and that the company would 'take the time to do this,' possibly over several years.

Security researcher Jonathan Zdziarski first came across 'evidence' of the rumoured payment system last month, but Mr Aude has gone a step further by turning it on and taking screenshots of the feature.

'With FB messenger, you attach money just like you attach a photo or a location. You don't even have to link a bank account!' Mr Aude tweeted. 

He continued that users can press a button to make a payment, entering the amount of money they want to send. 

The transaction is not posted to a user's News Feed and is kept private.

Explaining how it works, Mr Aude said the system uses 'some magical means' to look up the bank account number of a recipient, before depositing the chosen sum of money. 

The student said the system only works with debit cards – not credit cards or bank accounts – which is possibly because this type of payment is the cheapest to process.

He thinks each transaction would cost Facebook up to $0.50, but in its current form, it looks as if the feature is free to users.

A note in the code suggests that while the system is initially being built to make payments from one friend to another, there is an intention to support group payments in time.

Mr Aude believes that Facebook will roll out the feature in the US over the next few months, but concedes that it could take much longer.