US investigation into Pix targets Central Bank decision against WhatsApp Pay.

247 - The United States Department of Commerce (USTR) has opened an investigation into barriers imposed by the Central Bank of Brazil on WhatsApp Pay's operations in the country. This information comes according to a column by journalist [name missing]. Marina BarbosaThe article, from UOL, focuses on the restrictions applied in 2020, the year in which the payment service from Meta — the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram — was launched in Brazil, shortly before the debut of Pix, an instant payment system that revolutionized the Brazilian financial market and directly threatens US companies like Visa and Mastercard due to the reduced use of credit and debit cards.

WhatsApp Pay arrived on the market in June 2020, five months ahead of the initial Pix launch schedule. However, shortly after the announcement, the Central Bank and the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) ordered the immediate suspension of the new service. At the time, the measure was criticized, raising suspicions that the monetary authority was acting to protect its own instant transfer system, as well as the interests of large banks.

In its official justification, the Central Bank argued that authorizing WhatsApp Pay at that time could cause "irreparable damage to the Brazilian payment system, particularly in relation to competition, efficiency, and privacy." The institution denied any intention of blocking competition with Pix.

According to the report, analysts believe that both Pix and WhatsApp Pay operate based on payment arrangements supported by "network economies," a model that favors those who enter the market first by connecting consumers and suppliers. In response to Meta's move, the Central Bank decided to bring forward the launch of Pix, which was initially scheduled for November but ended up being launched in August 2020.

WhatsApp Pay was released gradually and in a restricted manner, starting in November of that year. It wasn't until March 2021 that peer-to-peer money transfers were authorized. Payments to businesses, in turn, were only enabled in March 2023—almost three years after the original launch.

According to lawyer Luciano Timm, former head of the National Consumer Secretariat and current director of the Brazilian Association for Economic Freedom, the stance adopted by the Central Bank exposed Brazil to international criticism. "The Central Bank opened itself up to an American attack" by acting as a direct market participant, he assessed.

Timm also acknowledges Pix's success among users, but questions the limits of the monetary authority's actions. "There's no doubt that Pix is ​​a success story from an adoption standpoint. I have no doubt that the Central Bank has regulatory power, but I don't know if it has the power to act in the market," he stated.