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Brazil's government-run payments system has become dominant

(www.economist.com)
666 points jcartw | 3 comments | 08 Apr 25 10:59 UTC | HN request time: 0.408s | source
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afarah1 ◴[08 Apr 25 11:57 UTC] No.43620640[source]▶
WhatsApp is omnipresent for communication in Brazil, and WhatsApp Pay was ready before Pix, but the government blocked the launch to launch Pix first.[1] I rarely see this mentioned.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/brazil-suspends-w...

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paintbox ◴[08 Apr 25 12:15 UTC] No.43620799[source]▶
It's a question of national security not to let Meta eat that cake, and Brasil made the right choice.

Tangentially related, I've heard talk of EU alternative to VISA and Mastercard, which I also believe is the right direction.

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afarah1 ◴[08 Apr 25 12:30 UTC] No.43620945[source]▶
WhatsApp Pay is available today in Brazil. The official reason for blocking the launch was missing paperwork, but word on the street at the time was that it was to favor Pix. This is all mentioned in the Retuers article. The reasons for favoring Pix are left for one to speculate. You say national security, the other says financial surveillance and control over the population. Time will tell.
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xinayder ◴[08 Apr 25 12:40 UTC] No.43621045[source]▶
I'd much rather let the Central Bank handle my instant payments, than Meta.
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djrj477dhsnv ◴[08 Apr 25 14:48 UTC] No.43622430[source]▶
Why? Your own government can do a whole lot more to you than a foreign corporation.
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dyingkneepad ◴[08 Apr 25 15:23 UTC] No.43622885[source]▶
Well, I can vote so that the thing my government does to me is something I want.

The foreign corporation will always be exclusively interested in doing things to me that generate revenue for them.

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djrj477dhsnv ◴[08 Apr 25 15:41 UTC] No.43623086[source]▶
> Well, I can vote so that the thing my government does to me is something I want.

You better hope that your interests closely align with those of millions of your compatriots.

And that no one with political power has a personal vendetta against you.

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Vilian ◴[08 Apr 25 17:55 UTC] No.43624602[source]▶
>You better hope that your interests closely align with those of millions of your compatriots.

corporation NEVER has my interests in mind, so coordinating millions is easier

>And that no one with political power has a personal vendetta against you.

same argument can be used with corporations

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1. djrj477dhsnv ◴[09 Apr 25 00:44 UTC] No.43627869[source]▶
Those points are true, but a private corporation can't take away my life, liberty, or property under the threat of violence.
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2. q3k ◴[09 Apr 25 10:22 UTC] No.43630603[source]▶
> [the government can] take away my life, liberty, or property under the threat of violence.

I do not envy your life situation if this is something that you have to genuinely worry about.

3. GuinansEyebrows ◴[10 Apr 25 15:17 UTC] No.43644723[source]▶
Blackwater?