Mastercard announces availability P2P WhatsApp payment service in Brazil

By Pavithra R

Mastercard has announced that cardholders in Brazil can now send and receive money to and from friends and family through WhatsApp.

Mastercard debit cardholders with cards issued by Banco Inter, Itaú, Nubank and Sicredi will be able to use the innovative P2P WhatsApp service. The payments service on WhatsApp is enabled by Facebook Pay and processed by Facebook Pagamentos and Cielo.

The announcement comes after the Brazil Central Bank officially granted a Payment Initiator license to Facebook Pagamentos do Brasil Ltda and approved Mastercard’s new transfer scheme. Additional banking partners are expected to join the program soon.

“This partnership with Facebook illustrates our ability to offer new and innovative ways to send and receive money in Brazil, with the needs of our customers at the core of our business strategy. By 2030, 55% of Brazilians expect all financial transactions to be made in real time (with funds available immediately). To make this possible, we will continue to work on developing interoperable solutions and standards focused on efficiency and user experience”, said João Pedro Paro Neto, Mastercard President for Brazil and the Southern Cone.

The service leverages Mastercard Send to enable real-time payments for WhatsApp users in Brazil. Mastercard Send is part of Mastercard’s multi-rail proposition, and enables people and organizations to send and receive money how, where and when they choose, across both card and real-time payments rails, providing increased choice, access and financial control.

Every payment made on WhatsApp is protected by multiple layers of security. Mastercard tokenization solutions leverage bank authentication to ensure the WhatsApp user is the card owner. Consumers create the token, then enter their Facebook Pay security PIN or device biometrics whenever they want to make a transaction.

“We are excited about the availability of this service. Facilitating the sending and receiving of money safely could not be more important at this time, as it not only decreases people’s exposure to the pandemic, but also helps loved ones stay connected, broadens access to financial services and enables more people to participate in the digital economy,” said Matt Idema, WhatsApp’s Chief Operating Officer.