- The new service will be delivered through the WhatsApp platform and powered using Mastercard Send™.
- It will be available all the time, including at weekends, and will have an option to pay businesses as well as individuals.
- “Mastercard Send plays a key role in diversifying Mastercard’s payment flows and enhancing payment experiences for customers,” said a leading figure at Mastercard.
Global financial services provider Mastercard has announced that it is working alongside social media giant Facebook to offer a new online money transfer service.
Mastercard said that it is offering the service in Brazil and that the provision is being routed via the app-based messaging service WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook.
The service, which uses the firm’s ‘Mastercard Send™’ system, is now giving millions of users the chance to send money.
The money-sending service is available around the clock, seven days a week.
Those in the country who bank with the firms Sicredi and Nubank will be some of the first to benefit.
Mastercard said that it predicted that more banks would come on board as partners as time went on.
It will also be possible for WhatsApp users to use the service to settle invoices and accounts with small firms.
“In addition to making transfers, WhatsApp users can also pay small businesses through the WhatsApp Business Application,” the firm said in a press release.
“This allows for instant digital payments of goods and services to millions of small businesses in Brazil,” it added.
According to Shari Krikorian, who serves as senior vice president for new payment platforms, products and innovation at Mastercard, the development was especially important for young people.
“Over a third of young Brazilians make payments through their mobile phone regularly today, and we know immediacy of payment transfers and instant confirmations are the most important factors for this segment of consumers,” she said.
“Our partnership with WhatsApp, powered by Mastercard Send™, is just another example of how Mastercard is providing innovative new solutions for customers and consumers all around the world, enabling them to send and receive money, when, where and how they want.”
“Mastercard Send plays a key role in diversifying Mastercard’s payment flows and enhancing payment experiences for customers,” she added.
On WhatsApp’s part, Matt Idema, who is the brand’s chief operating officer, said that the timing was also important.
“We are very excited to bring payments on WhatsApp to our users across Brazil. Making it easier to send and receive money could not be more important than at a time like this,” he said.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the country. The ability to easily make sales right within WhatsApp will help business owners adapt to the digital economy and to support growth and financial recovery,” he added.
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