Meta Platforms, Inc., otherwise known as Meta, launched a new feature in one of the platforms it owns, WhatsApp, wherein people in Brazil can now pay local small businesses via the platform’s chat feature. Here’s the news.
Right via WhatsApp chat
Earlier this week, Meta announced that it had launched this new feature that lets users directly pay local businesses via WhatsApp chat in Brazil.
“People in Brazil will be able to pay local businesses right in a WhatsApp chat. We’ll be rolling this feature out to more businesses in the coming months,” founder, chairman, and CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, said in a Facebook post.
This new capability is bound to connect small businesses and prospective customers via WhatsApp, thereby reducing the hassles of managing several different websites and applications for shopping and making payments.
It also unlocks many opportunities in Brazil’s merchant payment market. It is expected that this will enhance user growth across doing business through Meta’s Family of Apps. Meta’s Family of Apps consists of social media giants – Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
“This seamless and secure checkout experience will be a game-changer for people and small businesses looking to buy and sell on WhatsApp without having to go to a website, open another app or pay in person,” Meta said in their official newsroom post. “We’re rolling the feature out… to a small number of businesses, and it will be available to many more in the coming months.”
Pay using Mastercard, Visa, and more
With this feature, WhatsApp users in Brazil can already pay for products and services using their Mastercard and Visa debit, credit, and prepaid cards issued by a wide range of banks taking part in the service.
Moreover, small businesses using WhatsApp’s Business version can now link a supported payment partner – for instance, Mercado Pago, Cielo, or Rede – and create an order within the app to accept payment securely from their respective customers.
Secure
If you are in Brazil and worrying about whether this new feature is secure (security is also important, by the way), you should not. Just like the other features of WhatsApp, these payments are secure, Meta added in its official newsroom post. Card numbers are encrypted and stored securely. Users must create a Payment PIN and use this for every payment they make. Meta also said there is a customer support team users can contact if they need help.
This new payment feature in Brazil was initially launched in Brazil to offer users in-app business abilities. It also includes viewing a store’s catalog, and sending or receiving payments with solid security and privacy. However, this feature is currently only available to people in India and Brazil.
Last November 2022, the instant messaging platform unveiled its business directory and search feature in Brazil for people to find businesses right through the app. This has provided improved categorization of these businesses, and saved users’ time looking for websites of businesses and contact information.
What netizens think
Several netizens have expressed their thoughts about this announcement. One of them said it is a “great initiative” and should also be present in other regions. However, they also offered suggestions for improvement.
In the comments section of Zuckerberg’s post, they wrote, “This is a great initiative and should be piloted in other regions. Do we have safeguards to avoid malicious actors taking over the individual device and making unauthorized transactions? It will be helpful to add a mandatory educational checkpoint for users enrolling into this program, where they have to go through a thirty seconds check mark, verifying all data before transactions are made.”
This user also suggested a force push of updates feature for all devices running on Android, similar to what is currently done on WhatsApp.
“Great idea! It not only simplifies the purchasing process but also prevents the depreciation of currency notes…” netizen Naseer Ahmad Nazari, meanwhile, commented on the post.
