WhatsApp finally launches payments, starting in Brazil

After months of talks and trials, WhatsApp has finally pulled the trigger on payments in its app. Today the company announced that users in Brazil would be able to send money to - and receive money from - individuals and businesses by way of its messaging app.

The news comes a little bit as a surprise: the company has been testing this payments service among users in India for months, so many assumed that the world's second largest internet market would be the debut region for the service.

"Payments on WhatsApp are beginning to roll out to people across Brazil beginning today and we look forward to bringing it to everyone as we go forward," the company said.

Users in Brazil will be able to use the payments service on WhatsApp to make purchases from local businesses without leaving their chat, the Facebook -owned service said.

"The over 10 million small and micro businesses are the heartbeat of Brazil's communities. It's become second nature to send a zap to a business to get questions answered. Now in addition to viewing a store's catalog, customers will be able to send payments for products as well," the company wrote in a blog post.