Facebook has announced that it has rolled out digital payments to WhatsApp users in Brazil, which will start rolling out today.
This is a very big move for WhatsApp as Facebook has always wanted to capitalize on the business of sending money between people on their apps.
People in Brazil will be able to send money securely or make a purchase from a local business without leaving the chat.
Whatsapp says that there are over 10 million small and micro businesses in Brazil and you can see their target market. Now, in addition to viewing the store’s catalog, customers will be able to send payments for products as well.
In addition to commerce-related payments, WhatsApp users in Brazil can send money to each other as easily as sending a message. Whatsapp Payments are enabled by Facebook Pay and they want to make it possible for people and businesses to use the same card information across Facebook’s family of apps.
Facebook was quick to tout Whatsapp Payment’s security features. Users are required to create a six-digit PIN or fingerprint to prevent unauthorized transactions.
This test by Facebook shows what they are planning for the WhatsApp platform. WhatsApp is still Facebook’s record purchase and has over 2 billion users on its own right. It has a huge following in many countries outside North America and yet it is largely unmonetized like the other apps.
If the Brazil test goes on well, we might see a situation where WhatsApp will allow payments in Africa, maybe integrated using Flutterwave and MPESA like Uber Cash and it could be an easy way to send money to people or pay for goods on WhatsApp.
