Facebook (META -0.52%) has confirmed AllThingsD's report that the social-networking company will soon be entering the mobile payments space.
For the time being, the company will be focused on the mobile checkout user experience, which it hopes it can make more user-friendly during its small pilot with JackThreads, a men's fashion online retailer that relies on the social network for marketing purposes. Under the pilot, shoppers will be able to take advantage of a more streamlined mobile checkout experience, provided they opt to keep their billing information on file with Facebook.
As you can imagine, eBay (EBAY -0.14%) investors probably aren't too pleased over this development because it pits Facebook's massive user base directly against eBay's online payment powerhouse, PayPal. However, Fool contributor Steve Heller believes that any investor fears over Facebook's move to directly compete against PayPal are currently overblown. Check out the following video to get his full thinking on the matter.
