Facebook-owned Whatsapp has started rolling out the digital payment feature in Brazil, which will allow users to send and receive money in-app. Small businesses will also be able to make a sale within the app.
Payments in Whatsapp builds up on Facebook Pay, which was released in November 2019 for users in USA. The company aims to streamline payments so that people and businesses can use the same payment information across all of the Facebook-owned apps including Instagram.
Sending and receiving money is free for people, but businesses will have to pay a processing fee — similar to when accepting credit card transactions — whenever they receive payments from customers.
To prevent misuse, the user will require to setup a six-digit PIN or fingerprint to complete transactions. Users will be able to send money to other people or purchase products from a local business without leaving the chat.
Also read: How to enter a referral code in Google Pay?
Currently, digital payments on Whatsapp in Brazil will support Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards from Banco do Brasil, Nubank and Sicredi. Whatsapp has also collaborated with Cielo for digital payments.
“Brazil is the first country where we’re widely rolling out payments in Whatsapp. More to come soon!”, wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post.
While the digital payments feature on Whatsapp is being piloted in Brazil, it’ll allow over 10 million small business owners in the country to receive payments for their products, in addition to displaying their store’s catalogue.
“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,” Whatsapp announced.
Also read: Apple Pay vs Google Pay vs Samsung Pay: 3 key talking points
