(FT) Meta’s target of the world’s-first payments service through an encrypted messaging app suffered a blow after talks with potential payment partners faltered.
Negotiations between the payments group and Meta stalled due to several issues, including the proposed fees from WhatsApp, which the merchants said were too low.
The merchants also raised concerns over Meta’s terms, pointing out that the company wanted to shift certain legal responsibilities to them.
As the second-largest WhatsApp market with 120 million users, Meta intended to use Brazil to pilot-test the payment initiative before a global rollout.
Meta now faces a hurdle after previously struggling to sign local “merchant acquirers,” who would have helped in the initial kick-off of the project. The payments-to-merchants service is also yet to get approved by the country’s central bank.
The challenges in launching the payment service are a blow to Meta, which has been exploring alternative payment streams as existing channels continue to face declines.
WhatsApp says it will continue to work with the local authorities in Brazil and potential partners. The central bank previously raised concerns of competition, data privacy, and efficiency of the payment service.
FB: NASDAQ is down -7.21%.
