WhatsApp had recently introduced its payments feature in Brazil after a long trial in India, but now the company has had to suspend work on it.
According to a Bloomberg report, the Central Bank of Brazil has suspended WhatsApp payments in its country.
Apparently, the purpose of suspending the feature by the bank is to protect the appropriate competitive environment, which will ensure that the payment system is fast, secure, transparent, cheap, exchangeable and open.
As mentioned above, Facebook, the company that owns WhatsApp, recently introduced this feature in Brazil after 2 years of testing.
After India, Brazil has the largest number of WhatsApp users, making it the best market for launching this feature.
According to Facebook, this feature will gradually become available to all users.
This feature will allow users to pay for purchases from local companies without leaving the app and will not have to pay any fees separately.
Small businesses in various countries are using the WhatsApp as a means of online presence, which will provide them with an easy way to make digital payments.
This feature was introduced with 2 Brazilian banks and now the Central Bank of Brazil has instructed both of them to stop transferring money through WhatsApp or face fines.
According to central bank officials, the suspension of the feature will help the service investigate any potential threats to Brazil’s payment systems and ensure that all necessary rules are followed. Or not, especially when it comes to competition, usability and data privacy concerns.
On the other hand, a Facebook spokesperson told Bloomberg that the bank’s decision was surprising as the company had entered into an agreement with the management before introducing the feature.
“Our goal is to facilitate digital payments to all WhatsApp users in Brazil, and we will continue to work with local partners and the central bank to make this possible,” the spokesman said. We are also committed to continuing to work with our partners for the payment system. ”