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Instagram quietly adds a native payments feature for some users

You'll soon be able to make a variety of purchases without leaving the site.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
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Abrar Al-Heeti
Instagram icon on a smartphone screen.

Some Instagram users can now make purchases without leaving the app. 

 Carl Court/Getty Images

Instagram has quietly added a native payments feature for certain users, CNET has confirmed. 

As part of the feature, users of the photo sharing app can register a credit or debit card with their profile and set up a security pin. They can then make purchases without leaving the site. This follows the company's announcement last year that it would allow users to book appointments with businesses through the app. 

The feature is available through a limited set of partners and businesses on Instagram, including dinner reservation app Resy. Soon, you'll be able to use Instagram to make payments for things like movie tickets, according to TechCrunch, which reported the news earlier Thursday. Some users in the US and the UK have access to the payment settings, TechCrunch added.

Making the purchasing experience faster and more convenient could boost Instagram's role in commerce. Parent company Facebook has made its own move into native commerce, previously rolling out features in Messenger that not only let people buy things but also allow them to make payments to friends. In February, Snapchat also began testing a native payments and checkout feature.