Mercado Libre Jajaki Shopping And Payment Services In Whatsapp Messaging Applications

MercadoLibre is in talks with Meta Platform Inc., (photo: Twitter @Mercadolibre)

JAKARTA E-commerce retail and Latin American fintech company Mercado Libre is in talks with Meta Platform Inc., to process payments in its WhatsApp messaging service which began in Brazil. This was revealed by CFO MercadoLibre to Reuters on Wednesday, December 7.

Meta, the owner of Facebook, said last month it would launch a payment instrument in the country that is America's largest economic market in Latin America. This tool allows WhatsApp users to send messages and buy from businesses directly in chat.

"We are in the testing phase as a partner who processes payments in Brazil," Pedro Arnt, CFO Mercado Libre, told Reuters in an interview.

This payment instrument in Brazil will allow WhatsApp users to find company accounts through a layout service and make in-app transactions with credit or debit cards.

"This could be an opportunity for us to make efficient use of WhatsApp to generate better sales and customer contacts," added Arnt.

He did not say how well this trial stage continued or showed potential income for the Mercado Pago financial division. However, Brazil is one of the largest markets of WhatsApp, along with India and Indonesia.

Mercado Pago was among several companies called WhatsApp last month that had the necessary technical integration, "many of which" also participated in production testing.

MercadoLibre last month posted a better profit than expected for a third quarter with a record net income of USD 2.7 billion, with 88 million unique active users in 18 countries.

"We have a very strong relationship with our consumers because we can meet their financial and trade needs. That puts us in a very strong position," said Arnt.

The CFO says the company will retain its cryptocurrency despite market slowdown after the collapse of the FTX exchange, which allows it to keep offering Mercado Pago users in some countries likely to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies in digital wallets.

According to Arnt, the company's cryptocurrency investment of 30 million US dollars between the second and fourth quarters of 2021 is now worth 11 million US dollars.

"The market time is wrong, but it has a lot to do with learning about crypto storage, buying and selling," he said. "No more buying and we don't sell either, we still hold the asset."

When the company expanded its regional logistics network through Mercado Envios, Arnt said its fleet now contains more than 1,000 electric vehicles as it increases shipments on the same day (same day service) and the following day (next day service).

The largest technology company in Latin America, by market cap, is currently in talks with startups like US-based Xos Trucks to make specifics for custom vehicle designs. "We see this happening in 2024," he added.

Mercado Libre wants to continue investing in technology to give retail advertisers more insight into consumer behavior after the Ad business reaches a 1.3% penetration of gross merchandise volume. "This business should be able to grow many times over the next few years," said Arnt.