WhatsApp payments suspended in Brazil by Central Bank: Here’s why

Brazil has suspended Whatsapp’s  mobile payments service just a few days after it went  live

The feature which was set up with several local banks, launched for all WhatsApp users in Brazil on June 15

In a statement, Brazil’s Central Bank said, “The reason is to preserve an adequate competitive environment, ensuring an interoperable, fast, secure, transparent, open, and economical payment system”

“Rolling out the service without previous analysis by the monetary authority could damage the Brazilian payments system in the areas of competition, efficiency and data privacy”

It has also asked Mastercard and Visa, which are among the payments partners for WhatsApp in Brazil to suspend money transfer on the WhatsApp app

However, sources claim, WhatsApp was surprised by the Brazilian central bank’s decision as the company had been in regular contact with the authority.