 |
| Meta introduces a feature to facilitate business relationships within WhatsApp |
Today, Thursday, Mita announced new features for the WhatsApp instant messaging service that will allow users to find, communicate with, and buy from companies just by speaking.
The new move comes as the US tech giant intends to increase its presence in the e-commerce sector and capitalize on the massive popularity of WhatsApp, which has more than 2 billion monthly active users as of early 2020.
"Today we're sharing an update on our ongoing efforts to help users find, notify, and buy businesses on WhatsApp," Meta said in a blog post.
The company added that users need a way to find the businesses they're looking for among the millions of small businesses and tens of thousands of brands available through WhatsApp.
Today, Meta has begun to allow users to browse businesses by category such as travel or swap sites, or search by name. The goal is to eliminate the need for users to look up phone numbers on a website or search for companies in their contact lists.
The company confirmed that it has developed the ability to search for companies in a way that protects the privacy of users, as the content that users search for is not processed in a way that allows their accounts to be linked to companies.
Meta said it will begin rolling out the new feature in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United Kingdom, where users can find businesses through the WhatsApp business platform.
The company said that some companies recently added to WhatsApp help users open bank accounts, buy train tickets or order food.
Since it wants users to be able to use their credit cards to make secure payments in WhatsApp chats, Meta announced a feature that was recently launched in India. Now the company has started testing it in Brazil.
Meta believes this seamless payment experience will be a game-changer for businesses and people who want to buy and sell on WhatsApp without having to visit a website, open another app, or pay in person.