LatamList – Cade, the Brazilian economy watchdog, announced the revoking of its decision to suspend Facebook’s WhatsApp payments feature. Brazil’s Central Bank and Cade contested the service a week after its launch in the country in June.
The decision comes after Facebook and Cielo, a Brazilian card processor, submitted a document to Cade. The document outlined how the platform works, specifically demonstrating that the services would not threaten competition in the market.
“We are glad Cade acted quickly to lift its preventive restriction on WhatsApp Payments,” said a spokesperson for WhatsApp.
However, Brazil’s Central Bank also separately blocked the service so it is unlikely to be active again immediately. The bank raised concerns related to Visa Inc and Mastercard.
The Central Bank is still concerned about the impact of the WhatsApp payments service, as WhastApp has over 120 million users in Brazil. The payments system could potentially act as a powerful rival to other local banks and therefore damage the economy.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Brazilian authorities to restore the service soon to allow all WhatsApp users in Brazil to send money to friends and family or purchase a product right on WhatsApp,” the spokesperson added.
Cade will continue to investigate the partnership until Facebook and the Central Bank reach a resolution.
Read more on Reuters.
