Facebook messaging service gets delayed Brazil nod for payments

FILE PHOTO: 3D printed Facebook and WhatsApp logos and keyboard buttons are placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank on Tuesday cleared the way for Facebook's WhatsApp messaging service to let its users send each other funds using the Visa Inc and Mastercard card networks, months after vetoing WhatsApp's initial attempt.

When WhatsApp tried to launch the transfer service last June, the central bank said it could damage Brazil's existing payments system in terms of competition, efficiency and data privacy, adding that the service had failed to obtain the needed licenses.