Table of contents:
- Does WhatsApp respect the competition with its payment system?
- And why can't WhatsApp work independently?
Paying with your mobile phone is becoming very practical for all of us. Even more since the coronavirus is around here WhatsApp, the most popular messaging service that exists, also got down to work to offer users the Possibility of making payments with the application. They wanted to compete, in this way, with other services that are succeeding, such as Bizum or Twyp.
Recently, WhatsApp considered launching the function in test mode, so that only a few would test it to determine if the tool actually worked.The tests began nothing more and nothing less than in Brazil. Although they wanted to test the payment system with few users, WhatsApp did so in the second largest market in which it operates.
The fact is that the tests have not had the desired effect. So much so that the Central Bank of Brazil has blocked the sending of money through WhatsApp, launching an order to Visa and Mastercard so that any operation carried out is automatically suspended. It seems that the main reason for this blocking has to do with the desire to preserve the competitive environment. They allege that they have not been able to carefully analyze the nature and operation of the WhatsApp money-sending service.
Does WhatsApp respect the competition with its payment system?
The answer to this question is entirely uncertain. In fact, this is exactly what the Central Bank of Brazil has considered and for this reason they have closed the door to the possibility of WhatsApp offering this service in the countryThey explain that the payment service could cause irreparable damage to the Brazilian Payment System (SPB), especially affecting the competition of services that also deal with money transfers. They say, on the other hand, that it could also affect the efficiency and privacy of the data of users who use WhatsApp to send money.
According to the Central Bank, this stop will serve to carry out an assessment of the risks that the implementation of this system may entail They want verify, in fact, that Law 12,865 of 2013 that regulates this point is complied with. And since the service must be stopped by order of the Brazilian authorities, a warning has already been issued to WhatsApp so that they do not continue to offer this service in Brazil.
If they did, which is highly unlikely, the company would have to face the payment of a fine and a sanction through a procedure administrative. And although the veto is in Brazil, everything indicates that this fact will mean a great brake on the launch of this service around the world, as WhatsApp had originally promised when announcing the functionality
And why can't WhatsApp work independently?
Obviously, the WhatsApp payment system does not work independently. Users who want to use it, would have to associate their WhatsApp account with a debit or credit card, as long as their responsible entities adhered to an agreement with the company that provides the service.That is why after the service with Visa and Mastercard is blocked, users will not be able to use this payment system in any way.
The doubts about the advisability of WhatsApp having its own payment platform have to do with the fact that the messaging service has so many users around the world, which could seriously violate the competition, not only in Brazil, but anywhere in the world, bearing in mind that WhatsApp operates in cyclopean proportions globally.
