The MercadoLibre CFO revealed this in an interview with Reuters.

Pedro Arnt, CFO at Latin American e-commerce retailer and fintech firm MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is in discussions with Meta (NASDAQ: META) to process payments in Brazil on the latter’s WhatsApp messaging service. (Reuters)

Last month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had outlined plans for a commercial directory and a payments tool within WhatsApp in Brazil. He said in a video: “The ultimate goal here is to make it so you can find, message and buy from a business all in the same WhatsApp chat.”

Brazil, India, and Indonesia are WhatsApp’s biggest markets.

Brazil payments through WhatsApp

Whatsapp users in Brazil would use the payments tool to locate a business through the commercial directory, enter a deal via messaging, and then pay with a debit or credit card.

“We are in the test phase as one of the partners that processes payments in Brazil,” Arnt told Reuters.

Meta named Mercado Pago, the financial arm of MercadoLibre, as one among many other companies that are participating in testing the new payment system.

“We have a very strong relationship with our consumers because we can solve both their financial needs and their commerce needs. That puts us in a very strong position,” Arnt told Reuters.

“This could be an opportunity for us to leverage WhatsApp efficiently to generate more sales and better customer contacts,” Arnt added.

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