WhatsApp users in Brazil can now pay businesses through the chat

This new feature has the potential to result in an improved user experience, as WhatsApp users will be able to discover their favourite products and pay for them directly through the app. For merchants, this can result in an increase in revenue and conversions as clients will no longer need to go to a website, open another app, or pay in person. 

Up until now, customers were able to conduct peer-to-peer transactions through WhatsApp Pay in Brazil. However, regulatory restrictions prevented Meta from rolling out the ability to make purchases through merchants. This meant that shops were leveraging third-party payment services in order to generate payment links, which were then sent to users via a WhatsApp message. 

WhatsApp revealed that more than 5 million businesses use the messaging app in Brazil. In 2022, the company expanded its in-app business directory and search features. This move allowed users to search for different types of businesses within the app, as well as items that they would like to purchase. 

WhatsApp revealed that users in Brazil will be able to conduct payments via Mastercard and Visa debit, credit, and pre-paid cards issued by some participating banks. To accept these payments, businesses will need to link a service provider such as Cielo, Mercado Pago or Rede to their account. This new WhatsApp feature will roll out to a small number of businesses and will gradually expand to more merchants over the following months.

WhatsApp received approval from the Central Bank of Brazil

In March 2023, Brazil's central bank approved Meta Platforms' payments launch for SMEs in Brazil via the WhatsApp messaging application, building on the app's existing local peer-to-peer payment system. The approval signalled Meta’s intentions to use the Brazilian market as a testing space for business messaging, an area that rose in importance as Meta's core advertising business has stalled. 

WhatsApp users in Brazil have been able to make payments through the application since 2021, but the new development cleared the way for merchants to receive payments. Shortly after receiving the approval from the central bank, Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced on his Instagram broadcast channel that customers will soon be able to pay small businesses on WhatsApp.