The app will allow users to send funds to each other using the Mastercard and Visa card networks. Both card networks also had to obtain new permits to operate with Facebook’s messaging app. WhatsApp is currently only allowed to preform peer-to-peer payments, and Facebook is still seeking approval to operate with merchants.
According to Reuters, when WhatsApp tried to launch the transfer service in June 2020, the central bank said it could damage Brazil’s existing payments system, Pix, in terms of competition, efficiency, and data privacy, adding that the service had failed to obtain the needed licenses.
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