Facebook said it will shutter its P2P Messenger service in the U.K. and France, dealing a blow to efforts by the mobile chat service to make inroads in two major international markets.

Facebook sent a message to users alerting them that the service will shut down in June, and letting them know how to upgrade their settings.

"We are terminating the ability to send and receive payments in Messenger in both the U.K. and France, effective June 15," a Facebook spokesperson told Mobile Payments Today via email. "After evaluating how we give people the best experiences in Messenger, we made the decision to focus our efforts on experiences that people find most useful. Users have been notified in preparation for this change."

The spokesperson would not comment further when asked whether this would impact P2P service in the U.S., and would not provide any detail on the number of users affected.

Facebook has drawn criticism in recent months over revelations that it gave third-party companies access to private user data in Messenger. As previously reported, Facebook allowed Royal Bank of Canada and other companies to view private user exchanges in Messenger, however the bank said the information was used to confirm receipt when carrying out payment transfers.