Facebook has brought payments to WhatsApp for the first time, starting in Brazil build on Facebook Pay, a feature that provides a secure and consistent way to make payments across Facebook apps. The feature is set to be rolled out in other countries in the future.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook, “We’re making sending and receiving money as easy as sharing photos. We’re also enabling small businesses to make sales right within WhatsApp”.The company has also confirmed the service will be enabled across all its apps including WhatsApp and Instagram.
Facebook Pay is currently available in about 40 countries around the world, though it’s limited to the main Facebook app in most markets. The only exceptions to this are in the U.S., where it’s also available through Facebook’s Messenger app, and now Brazil, where it’s also available in WhatsApp.
The Brazil launch marks the first full countrywide launch for payments in WhatsApp and signals a new way for the company to monetize the messaging app. The company has been weighing to FacebookWhatsApp which now boasts over 2 billion users making it among the most popular social apps in the world. The company had early been rumoured to be backing away from plans to monetize its multibillion messaging app.
