Facebook is hell-bent on integrating everything into its ecosystem. And in a bid to bring more e-commerce to its system, Facebook has now launched WhatsApp Pay. Basically, it means that the users will be using Facebook Pay to send and receive money via WhatsApp. However, the service is currently limited to Brazil only.
For normal consumers, this service is free to use. That means that they will not have to pay any commission fee to Facebook. However, business organizations, that will use the app for commerce will have to pay a 3.99% processing fee.
How it works
Users can use this service to purchase products from WhatsApp’s catalog. Or exchange of money among friends and family. However, to use this service, customers should first link their WhatsApp to their credit/debit card. Currently, Facebook has partnered with just three banks: Banco do Brasil, Nubank and Sicredi. Furthermore, they have also partnered up with Cielo, a payment processor. However, in the future, they will obviously partner up with more banks.
Anyway, so after linking up your card, users will have to enter a six-digit PIN or fingerprint to complete the transaction. This is there for security purposes. That is it will help prevent any unauthorized transactions.
This move from Facebook in my opinion is a masterstroke. I mean there are other options for digital payments. For instance, people widely use PayPal, Google Play, Paytm and so on to make payments. However, there are virtually no competitors that offer payment options in the messaging app. Now, the informal use of WhatsApp for a commercial purpose is prevalent. Businesses use it to exchange messages with customers, suppliers, and so forth. Furthermore, the app already has amassed over 2 billion users. Thus, the integration of Facebook Pay within WhatsApp is clearly a good move. Eventually, Facebook plans on allowing its users to use linked cards across its family of apps.
