BOCAUE, PHILIPPINES - MAY 24: Maridie Emor opens the TikTok account of her father Alfredo on two phones before going live on TikTok Shop at their home on May 24, 2024 in Bocaue, Bulacan province, Philippines. Alfredo Emor, an elderly amputee who appears on the TikTok account @freddiebella (a combination of his name and his wife's), has made a comfortable living as a TikTok Shop Affiliate, earning commissions for endorsing products on his livestreams. TikTok Shop, the e-commerce platform within the popular short video app, has spurred a booming live selling industry in the Philippines, where businesses are benefiting from TikTok's prized algorithm to sell more and faster, disrupting the market for other established e-commerce platforms in the region. However, a proposed bill in the Philippine Congress, House Bill 10489, introduced amid geopolitical tensions with China and following similar moves by other countries, aims to ban "foreign adversary-controlled" apps, likely targeting TikTok and could threaten the livelihoods of many Filipinos who have built their businesses on the platform. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)
Millions of people already use TikTok to seek financial advice. Now, the app may be taking its money moves to the next level.
According to a report from Reuters, TikTok applied for two interesting licenses in Brazil. The first would allow it to operate as an “electronic money issuer,” a la Venmo. Users would be able to obtain prepaid accounts they could use to make and receive payments on the app.
The second license would position TikTok as a “direct credit company.” That wouldn’t exactly turn the app into a traditional bank, since it wouldn’t be able to accept public deposits, but it would be able to lend capital and connect borrowers to lenders. Reuters compared TikTok’s potential financial services to those offered by Nubank, which has become Brazil’s largest digital bank.
Neither TikTok nor Brazil’s central bank responded to Reuters‘ request for comment, but the app has a track record of testing new products in Brazil before launching them in other regions. Most notably, Brazil was one of the first countries to gain access to the since-shuttered TikTok Music service.
For TikTok, a move into financial services would make a lot of sense. The app is already one of Gen Z’s favorite sources for financial advice, and the #FinTok hashtag has been used on more than 150,000 videos. When you also consider how much money moves through TikTok each day, there’s a palpable opportunity to put those funds to work.
TikTok is not the only social media entity moving into the territory that has traditionally been dominated by brick-and-mortar banks. MrBeast is making a notable play in that area. With his acquisition of Step, he has signaled that he wants to help his Gen Z fans manage their income.
Gen Z is a core audience for TikTok, too, but will those users trust the app as an accredited lender? TikTok’s archive of fiscal advice isn’t always sound, but a financial services push has significant long-term potential. Depending on what happens with TikTok’s license applications, we’ll be keeping an eye on what happens next in Brazil.
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