WhatsApp launches payments in Brazil, ahead of India
What's the story
WhatsApp has launched its peer-to-peer payments service for users across Brazil. The feature will make sending money as easy as sending a picture, although the news comes as a bit of a surprise, considering WhatsApp Pay went into testing in India two years ago and is still not widely available in the country. Here is more about the feature.
Feature
Money transfer made easier
Available starting today, the new payments service strives to simplify money transfers for WhatsApp's 120 million users in Brazil, the company's second-largest market after India. The option works with the attachment option in chat and uses Facebook Pay, the payment platform Facebook launched a year ago, for completing the transaction. Notably, India's WhatsApp Pay is based on the Unified Payments Interface of the country.
Charges
No fee charged for sending money
Whether you choose to pay an individual or a business, WhatsApp's payments service will be absolutely free to use. There will not be any kind of commission, but if you are paying a small business for some product, the latter would have to pay a 3.99% processing fee to receive payment. This is how Facebook aims to make money through this service.
Quote
"We can help grow digital payments in Brazil"
"WhatsApp is heavily used there, both by people and small businesses," WhatsApp COO Matt Idema said of Brazil, adding that, "We think we can help grow digital payments, help grow the digital economy with small businesses, and help support financial inclusion."
Partners
Several banks roped in as partners
In a post announcing the service, Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of WhatsApp's parent company Facebook, said users will be able to link credit/debit cards from several local banks, including Banco do Brasil, Nubank, Sicredi, and Cielo will act as the payment processor. More partners are expected to enroll for the platform, as WhatsApp emphasizes that it has built this system as an "open model."
Expansion
More to come soon, Zuckerberg added
Zuckerberg indicated in his post that the feature will soon be expanded to other regions. Now, this could include a broader roll-out in India, where WhatsApp has been testing payments since 2018. The company made the service available to 1 million people initially, but has been stuck at that figure due to regulatory hurdles and RBI's data localization requirements.