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WhatsApp re-launches in Brazil after first attempt to send money to each other blocked by regulators and is now launching business payments in the market as well.
The Facebook-owned messaging app said Tuesday it would return free transfers from one person to another in the South American nation, the second-largest market with 120 million users, as it continues to plan to include payments for businesses in the country. .
The largest economy in Latin America initially hosted WhatsApp for the first time in international P2P payments last June. However, the service was abruptly discontinued a week after the Brazilian central bank told Visa and Mastercard to stop processing the payment application through the app, citing concerns about competitiveness, efficiency and data privacy.
The country’s anti-monopoly regulator WhatsApp suspended its partnership with Cielo, a transaction processor, over problems concentrating the market.
At the time, WhatsApp said officials were concerned that the service could compete with Pix to use the central bank’s instant payment service for individuals for free and into the year.
The resumption The Brazilian central bank recently granted a license to make P2P payments to a local Facebook subsidiary for the purposes of the WhatsApp scheme. It will now include eight banks, including Itaú, the largest private sector lender, with only three for the first time.
Upon restart, the P2P payment service will initially be available in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo for people with debit, prepaid or combined cards (combining debit and credit functions) at one of eight Visa and Mastercard banners. , but not credit cards.
“This is part of our mission to send money and send access to the world financial system as easily as sending a message to everyone,” said Matt Idema, WhatsApp’s chief operating officer.
According to what would be the first for the technology company, he said he was also in talks with the Brazilian central bank to expand the business of making money transfers. The move is happening as WhatsApp has stepped up its efforts to include more online shopping in its apps during the coronavirus pandemic.
Facilitating e-commerce would allow the platform to select new revenue streams and collect data to increase the value of an existing ad, said Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook. he said. However, boosting e-commerce has heightened privacy concerns on WhatsApp, making it clear that the app would share more data with its parent company after introducing new terms of service. scary many users.
Late last year, WhatsApp gained approval for the first full deployment of its payment service India, its largest market, after extended delays. WhatsApp is also pushing for the launch of the service in Mexico and Indonesia.
The Silicon Valley brand’s second stab at payments in Brazil, where major banks traditionally charge fees for money transfers and checking accounts, is in line with the increased competitiveness of fintechs that offer low-cost or free digital services.
The function operated by Cielo will be enabled through Facebook Pay, a service similar to the social networking platform. A Brazilian phone number is required and only transactions in the country and local currency are allowed. A person can send R $ 1,000 ($ 183) per transfer and receive 20 transactions per day, with a limit of R $ 5,000 per month.
“70% of Brazilians with a bank account can use it [our] we will add more service and banks in the future, ”Idema said.
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