Facebook has denied reports that it is actively asking banks for details of users’ financial transactions.

The statement follows a story in the Wall Street Journal that said the social media giant had asked US banks for such data.

Facebook said some users opted in to accessing some financial information in its Messenger app.

Any data that was accessed by the company for such purposes was not used for advertising, it added.

The Wall Street Journal had reported that Facebook approached JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and US Bancorp to ask for information about users’ account balances and card transactions.

However, Facebook said that users must opt in to linking the Messenger chat app to their bank accounts. (BBC)