WhatsApp cash payments and transfers are coming to Brazil from today, and the company says the feature will be rolled out to “everyone” over time…
WhatsApp announced the news in a blog post.
We’re excited to announce that starting today we’re bringing digital payments to WhatsApp users in Brazil. People will be able to send money securely or make a purchase from a local business without leaving their chat.
The over 10 million small and micro businesses are the heartbeat of Brazil’s communities. It’s become second nature to send a zap to a business to get questions answered. Now in addition to viewing a store’s catalog, customers will be able to send payments for products as well. Making payments simple can help bring more businesses into the digital economy, opening up new opportunities for growth.
In addition, we’re making sending money to loved ones as easy as sending a message, which could not be more important as people are physically distant from one another.
We have built payments with security in mind and a special six digit PIN or fingerprint will be required to prevent unauthorized transactions. To start, we will support debit or credit cards from Banco do Brasil, Nubank, and Sicredi on the Visa and Mastercard networks —and we are working with Cielo, the leading payments processor in Brazil. We have built an open model to welcome more partners in the future.
Sending money or making a purchase on WhatsApp is free for people. Businesses will pay a processing fee to receive customer payments, similar to what they may already pay when accepting a credit card transaction.
The rollout ought to be reasonably swift, as the underlying payment mechanism is Facebook Pay, first launched last year.
Apple made it possible to send and receive cash via its Messages app back in 2017, known simply as Apple Pay Cash. The option hasn’t yet rolled out beyond the US, however, so the WhatsApp cash feature could prove a popular option even for Apple users in other countries.
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