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Brazil Regulator Lifts Suspension Of WhatsApp’s Pair-Up With Cielo

By  |  July 1, 2020

Cade, the Brazilian antitrust watchdog, announced it would be reversing its decision to suspend the WhatsApp payment services partnership between Facebook and Brazilian card operator Cielo, Reuters reported.

According to Cade, the decision was made because preliminary information from both Cielo and Facebook indicated that they would not infringe on peoples’ choices and wouldn’t limit other deals with rival companies. Cielo is the largest acquirer in Brazil, boasting a 41 percent market share.

Cade had previously been concerned about favoritism issues, as WhatsApp could boost Cielo card transactions by 10 percent.

However, Cade said it would continue investigating the partnership, and the decision does not mean WhatsApp’s separate partnerships with payments giants Visa and Mastercard will be restored. Those two organizations were blocked because they had failed to seek Cade’s permission to do so first.