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WhatsApp Launches In-App Payments

WhatsApp Launches In-App Payments

Facebook-owned messaging giant WhatsApp announced today that users in Brazil can now send payments within its app.

The digital payments capabilities, powered by Facebook Pay, will allow users to send P2P payments to friends for no fee. The app also facilitates payments between WhatsApp users and businesses, but charges the business a 3.99% transaction fee.

With 120 million monthly active WhatsApp users, Brazil seems to have cut in line in front of India, which counts 400 million monthly active WhatsApp users, for the payments service. However, according to TechCrunch, WhatsApp has had difficulty sorting through regulations in India.

In the way of security, WhatsApp requires a 6-digit PIN or fingerprint to authenticate transactions. WhatsApp is working with Banco do Brasil, Nubank, and Sicredi to accept Visa and Mastercard debit or credit cards. Latin America’s largest payment systems company, Cielo, was chosen to be the payments processor.

There is no word on further international expansion for WhatsApp’s in-app payment capabilities.


Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash