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In a post on the Whatsapp blog, the company has announced that digital payments for people and small businesses have just started.
Well, Brazil is only the first step, obviously, and although no promises have been made of the feature making its way north to the U.S. or to other countries, it’s highly likely it will.
With Whatsapp’s digital payments, you’ll be able to make a purchase without leaving the WhatsApp chat.
The company says that sending money to loved ones will be as easy as sending a message, pointing out that at the moment that will be especially important while people are separated from each other.
Initially, only certain debit and credit cards are supported, though the company says it has “built an open model to welcome more partners in the future”.
Security rests in the fact that you’ll need to use a six-digit pin or fingerprint (or other biometric authentication) to complete transactions.
The system is enabled by Facebook Pay, which is already live, in a small number of countries, including the U.S. and U.K. But its fully-featured arrival on WhatsApp will arguably make a bigger difference, especially when it arrives in more territories.
