SAN FRANCISCO — TikTok is seeking to expand into financial services in Brazil, including lending and payments, as it pursues regulatory approval to operate as a fintech in one of its largest global markets.
The company, owned by ByteDance, has applied to Brazil’s central bank for two licenses that would allow it to offer a range of financial services within its app, Reuters reported.
One license would enable TikTok to operate as an electronic money issuer, allowing users to hold balances, receive funds and make payments. The second would classify the company as a direct credit provider, allowing it to lend money or connect borrowers with lenders, though it would not be permitted to take deposits like a traditional bank, according to Reuters and other outlets.
If approved, the move would position TikTok to integrate financial services with its growing e-commerce and creator ecosystem, reflecting a broader trend among technology platforms to embed payments and lending into their offerings, Reuters and industry reports said.
The push into Brazil underscores TikTok’s ambitions to deepen its presence in a market with more than 100 million users and high adoption of digital financial services, according to Reuters.
Meetings With Regulators
Executives from ByteDance, including its head of global payments, have met with Brazilian regulators as part of the effort, Reuters reported. The strategy mirrors earlier efforts by the company to build financial ecosystems tied to its platforms. ByteDance launched a payments service, Douyin Pay, in China in 2021, and previously sought to expand payments capabilities in Indonesia, though regulatory hurdles limited those efforts, according to Reuters and other reports.
